In The Dog House
by OurHouse
Summary: Continuation of the Bella series. Three years have passed since House and Cuddy's wedding. Bella is 13 years old and there's a new addition to the House family, possibly two. When Bella and Simon find a little friend in need of some rescue, how will her family react? Will they be happy to have him or will Bella be in the doghouse?
1. Chapter 1

**In The Dog House**

 **Summary: Continuation of the Bella series. Three years have passed since House and Cuddy's wedding. Bella is 13 years old and there's a new addition to the House family, possibly two. When Bella and Simon find a little friend in need of some rescue, how will her family react? Will they be happy to have him or will Bella be in the doghouse?**

 **Chapter 1**

The sun shone brightly overhead, rays spilling through the trees with barely a cloud in the sky. A slight breeze brought in a mild chill on a post rainy day in mid April; the first Princeton, NJ had seen in nearly two weeks. The streets and sidewalks were still wet; puddles like little mirrors reflecting the sun's rays, and the smell of spring flowers lingered in the air. Bella House stepped off the school bus and watched it drive passed her down the street after the doors were sealed closed behind her. She waved goodbye to schoolmates as they scattered in various directions toward their homes. Bella began a slow walk, untangling her headphones draped over her neck, placing the buds in her ears, and pressing play on her playlist. She paused on the sidewalk for a moment to open the flap on her shoulder bag, rifling through it for the second bag of potato chips from her lunch she'd packed that morning. It was crushed by now but she didn't care, she needed her salty afternoon snack after sitting in boring classes all day.

Chips in hand, she opened the bag and resumed her walk. On bus riding days, the days she didn't have any after school activities, Simon and Maya accompanied her because their parents didn't want them walking home alone. It was slightly out of Simon's way but being the occasional gentleman that way was, he walked her home first (her house being closer) and then Maya. Today, Maya was out sick and Simon got detention again, so she was walking alone. As she listened to her playlist on low volume, her brow creased when she thought she heard her name called out behind her. She removed one of her earbuds and sure enough…"Bella, wait up!"

Bella turned, her brow still crinkled. Simon was rolling down the sidewalk on his skateboard to catch up to her. She stopped and waited for him, popping a potato chip in her mouth and wondered how he got there so fast from detention. She removed her other earbud and slung them over her neck again as he approached.

He stopped in front of her, expertly popping his skateboard into his hand and she raised her eyebrows. "How was the slammer?" She quipped, crossing her arms.

Drawing in a breath, he straightened, rolling his eyes. "A breeze, same as always…but only because barely five minutes in, Mr. Boone had to go puke in the bathrooms." He explained, laughing. "It was awesome, he shot up out of his chair and ran out of the classroom with his hand over his mouth. For a second, I thought he was gonna barf right there in front of us. Oh my god, it was hilarious." He laughed through his explanation. "Then, Mr. Reese came in and told us we could leave because Mr. Boone was 'indisposed,'" He exaggerated. "But not before giving us another assignment and told us to come back tomorrow, can you believe that?" He asked, helping himself to a chip and popping it in his mouth.

"Yes. If he didn't, it wouldn't be detention." She informed him logically, scowling. "So, is Mr. Boone going to be ok?" She asked, concerned.

Simon shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't stick around, I got out of there before Mr. Reese could change his mind."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"But don't worry, I'm sure Mr. Boone will bounce right back and be ready to torture us again tomorrow. You can bring him a shiny red apple and draw him a picture that describes how much you love his….class." He teased. "I know about the not-so-secret teacher crush you have on him."

"Shut up, I do not!" Bella screeched, her cheeks pinking. She shoved Simon away, her face flaming from embarrassment as she raked her hair behind her ear.

Simon laughed and regained his balance, falling back in pace with her. "Oh, Mr. Boone, you're so dreamy." He teased her.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I hate you. I never said that and I don't sound like that." She pouted.

Simon laughed again. "Mr. Boone, I love your shirt…Mr. Boone, your hair looks nice today…Mr. Boone, your eyes as so sparkly, I love you." He mocked.

"That was Maya, you ass!"

"Yeah, but you're her brain twin." He retorted. "What is it with all the girls in our class crushing on him?"

"I don't have a crush on him." She defended, crossing her arms defiantly.

Simon rolled his eyes. "I call bullshit." He said eyeing her with a smirk as they continued down the sidewalk. "I know it's not him you really love, anyway…it's Alexander Peterman." He remarked, his smirk growing into a shit-eating grin.

Bella halted, aiming a glare at him. She wanted to kill him…how did he know that?

Maya.

She was the only person Bella told. She was so going to pay for that. Bella schooled her features, pasting a look of indifference on her face. "No I don't. He's nice, but I don't like him like that."

"Double bullshit." He howled.

Bella huffed and started walking again, increasing her pace. "Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around and spout heinous nonsense?"

Simon tilted his head to the side when he caught up to her, considering it, before shaking his head and smirking. "Not really, no."

Bella rolled her eyes again; it was a common practice around Simon, especially when he was being…well, no, it was pretty much all the time. She studied him for a moment as they walked, frowning suddenly. "So, what about your parents? What are they going to think?"

Simon turned his head in confusion. "About your crush on Xander? I'm pretty sure they don't care." He joked.

"Three detentions this semester, Simon?" She clarified on an impatient huff.

He shot a glare in her direction, shrugging. "So?"

"You keep it up and you'll get suspended, Si." She replied, her glare matching his.

"Again, so?" He smarted.

Bella heaved a sigh and punched him in the arm for his attitude. "Don't be a jerk. I was just asking out of concern, Simon."

Simon rubbed his arm. "Ow, Bella. Dammit." He mumbled.

She stared, waiting for his reply.

"Fine, god." He huffed. "My mom will be pissed, ok? But she's always on my case about everything, so why should I care? She blames everything in her shitty life on me, anyway; she hates her job, blame Simon, my sister misses her curfew, blame Simon, my mom breaks a nail, blame Simon, it's his fault!" He replied bitterly, shaking his head. "I'm just sick of her bullshit."

"Simon…." She sighed.

"Don't worry about it. My mom doesn't care that I get detention or suspended from school because she doesn't care what I do, not really; she just wants someone else to blame for her problems and since my dad isn't around anymore it falls on me. And anyway, he's no better than she is, but at least he doesn't blame me for his crappy life." Simon ranted before shaking his head as if to rid himself of it. "Screw 'em, B. I don't want to talk about it anymore." He mumbled.

Bella didn't know what to say. This wasn't the first time they'd talked about the problem with his parents. He never wanted to talk for long and would usually cut it short like he just did. She only knew a little of what it was like for him. Most of it she gleaned by watching and listening when she was at his house, but that was rare. Maya didn't know much more than she did and they made a point not to gossip about it. When it came to his parents, they pretended that one cared more about him than the other, but they didn't. It was like a game to them. They were both verbally abusive toward Simon and he toward them. They treated him like a toy they both wanted to play with but neither really wanting the toy, only to possess it because the other wanted ownership. Bella would never say it to Simon, but his parents were selfish assholes. They were like four year olds playing a game of tug of war with a toy they both wanted, and one of these days they were going to break him. Simon's reaction to all of it was to get into trouble; cause them problems so maybe they wouldn't want the toy anymore and they'd let go. Simon's sister was old enough that it didn't affect her equally because she was inches from getting out of the house after graduation.

Bella reached over to link her arm through his as they walked side by side. He looked over at her, gracing her with an appreciative smile. She returned it, before gently leaning her head on his shoulder. Bella felt terrible about his home life and that there was nothing she could do to help him. She could only be his friend and she hoped that was enough.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Simon spoke again, changing the subject to something lighter.

"So, did you ask your parents about going rock climbing next Saturday?"

Bella nodded, unlinking her arm. "Yeah, I can go."

"Really?" He squeaked in shock, whipping his head to look at her.

She shrugged. "Yeah. But there was a lot of begging and pleading involved. I had to convince my mom I wasn't going to fall off a cliff and die, that there would be plenty of adults around and that I would be strapped into a harness and wearing a helmet."

Simon chuckled. "I'm surprised she didn't want to conduct thorough interviews and background checks on every single person attending."

Bella shifted mischievous eyes to him, a grin to match. "You think that's a joke but it's not, she probably did. What would surprise me is if she asked for blood and pee samples so she could test everyone for drugs and do extensive research into their medical history."

"Don't get me wrong, I love your mom but she's a little neurotic, isn't she?" He asked, amused.

She shrugged her shoulders. "She just has a big heart and doesn't want anything bad to happen. I don't let it bother me too much."

Simon nodded, agreeing. "Yeah."

Bella turned to him, noticing the look on his face. "You know she'd do it for you too, right? It's not just me she looks out for."

He lowers his gaze to the sidewalk and shrugs but doesn't comment, his expression changing from wistful to doubtful.

Bella huffed, knowing she couldn't convince him with words. Simon got words thrown at him all the time, mostly poisonous ones from his parents. Words didn't mean anything good to him, he valued people's actions.

They continued their leisurely pace down the sidewalk in silence, finishing off the bag of chips and shoving the trash inside her book bag. As they turned the corner onto her block, suddenly Bella heard a whimper. She furrowed her brow, looking to Simon to ask what was wrong and quickly realizing it hadn't come from him when he seemed oblivious. She looked away and continued walking. Another whimper, and Bella turned around, unable to determine what it was and where it had come from. "Did you hear that?" Bella asked Simon. She tilted her head slightly, listening for it again.

"No, what? If it's the voices in your head again, I told you, the rest of us can't hear them." Simon quipped, chuckling.

"Shut it, Si, I heard something. Listen." She told him.

Again, a whimper or more of a whine was coming from somewhere close by. It sounded weak, but they both heard it that time and Bella looked at Simon.

"What is that?" Simon asked.

"Sounded like…maybe a dog? But where did it come from, I couldn't tell?" She asked, looking at the area surrounding them. There was a thick row of bushes on the perimeter of the corner house. She took a hesitant step toward it, not wanting to frighten the animal.

"Me either; listen again."

Bella kept her eyes on the bushes, hoping to see it move so she could find him and get him out if he was stuck. When they heard it again, it didn't sound like it was coming from the bushes, it sounded like it had come from the storm drain at the street corner behind them. "There." She pointed, stepping over to it, kneeling down to look inside.

"See anything?" Simon asked.

"Barely, but yeah, I see something moving. I think it is a dog, Si, a small one, maybe a puppy." She told him, glancing up at him in concern as he knelt over her to try and get a glimpse.

"Really? How'd it get down there?"

"He had to have fallen in, maybe slipped." Bella replied. "I hope he's not hurt. We've got to get him out of there."

"How? There's a big grate covering it and it's all nasty down there." He grimaced.

"I think I can fit." She observed, speaking mostly to herself and ignoring Simon.

"Are you whacked? You can't fit down there, it's too narrow; nobody can fit down there. And anyway, there's disease and giant sewer rats." He exclaimed, cringing in disgust.

Bella laughed, turning her head to look at him. "It's not the sewer, it's a storm drain. Not the same, Si."

He glared. "I know! I was just…kidding. I know it's not the same."

Bella shook her head, holding back a laugh. He totally didn't know. "Obviously, we'll have to move the grate first." She explained, replying to his earlier comment.

He sighed, looking upwards. "How do I get myself into these things? I try to be good and trouble finds me." He said, grumbling under his breath, reluctantly putting his skateboard and bag aside and kneeling down to get a grip on the grate. Bella knelt down to help.

"Shut up. More lifting, Simon, less grumbling." Bella grunted through her teeth as she pulled up on the grate with all her strength.

It wouldn't budge, so they both let go, taking in a few breaths after their exertion. Bella sighed, frustrated. "Let's try again, we have to get that grate off."

"It's too heavy, Bella. It's probably sealed with concrete."

Bella shook her head. "I think it's just stuck, with all the rain we've had, the mud is caked in the cracks, see?" She pointed around the edges of the grate. "We just have to try harder." She insisted.

Simon looked at her doubtfully and she sighed. "We can't leave him down there to die, Simon." Bella added, pleadingly.

Bella knew the moment he gave in because his eyes softened as he studied her. Then he nodded, agreeing. "Ok, let's try again."

Bella smiled. Bending down, she grabbed a nearby stick and began clearing the mud and leaves from around the grate, hoping to make it easier to lift. Once she was done, they tried again. It was still heavy, but she could tell getting the mud off had helped. They continued pulling up until finally, after several tries, managed to lift it and shift it over to the side.

"Oh my god, that's heavy." He grunted, letting it go and shaking his arms out and wiggling his fingers.

Bella stood up, ignoring him, her mind on a mission to get the little creature out of there. She swiped her muddy hands on her pants and removed her bag from her shoulder, setting it on the sidewalk. She knelt down again, trying to assess the situation now that the grate was moved, how she was going to get him out of there. There were two sections to the drain. A concrete 'step' where most of the mud and leaves the grate didn't catch was caked, and then the drop off that went deeper and was harder to get to. That's where the puppy was. This was going to be harder than she thought. Bella looked up at Simon, seeing concern in his eyes. "Don't worry, Simon, it's going to be fine. It'll just take a minute. I'll get the puppy, hand him to you and then I'll get right out." She reassured, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She could tell he wasn't convinced.

"May-maybe I should do it." He stuttered out, clearly hesitant to go down there but willing to help his friend.

Bella smiled at him indulgently. "It's ok, Simon, you don't have to be a gentleman on this one. I got this." She told him, patting his shoulder. "Anyway, you'd probably throw up on the puppy."

Simon glared at her, just for effect, but she knew he knew she was right. He had a pretty weak stomach when it came to slime and other things of unknown origin. Once, he almost threw up in their kitchen when her mom was cleaning out the innards of the Thanksgiving turkey. He got grossed out pretty easily, and he hated to admit it. It was a point of great amusement to her and Maya.

"Plus you won't fit." She added, teasing him.

He huffed, rolling his eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure. Aren't I always?"

"That's what worries me, B. Sometimes you don't think stuff through."

"Ok, pot." She snarked. "This kettle needs help getting down there. Just hold on to me in case I slip in the gook." She told him, holding her hands out to him.

In the meantime, the puppy had gotten quieter and that worried Bella. She didn't know how long he had been down there. He was probably starving, dehydrated and cold. He looked so small and he was covered in mud. Bella was also concerned that he'd get too weak to hold his head up and drown in the puddle of water below. As Simon held on to her, she stepped down. Ugh, this was so gross _,_ she thought as she noted the mud and other things she didn't want to think about caked at the bottom. Her shoes would be a mess, and her pants already were. She didn't want to show Simon how grossed out she was by this; he'd never shut up about it. She liked to tease him but he wasn't wrong about how gross this was.

She felt some of the goop seep into her shoes. Gross _._ "Ok, Si, let go so I can reach down there and grab him." She said in as normal a tone as she could muster while she inwardly cringed.

"Ok, but hurry up, I feel like I'm getting some kind of disease just from watching."

Bella sighed, kneeling down and feeling the cold, wet mud squish onto her skin through her pants. Her mother was going to kill her for getting her clothes this dirty. She'd have to throw this pair out and buy another with her allowance before she noticed. "So gross." She mumbled.

"What?" Simon questioned.

"Nothing." She replied, louder.

Bella reached down for the puppy, but couldn't get a hold of him. From what she could tell, he was black and white and he was super furry. He looked like a baby Ewok. So adorable, even though he was covered in all amounts of goop and mud. Poor thing.

She shifted her position, moving a little further inside the drain.

"Bella, be careful." She heard Simon say above her.

She ignored him and shifted again, one leg hanging from the step she was on hoping to slip down close enough to reach the dog. She could still hear Simon grumbling his complaints of disgust, as she reached down but was still unable to get him. She took a small leap down from the step, more muddy water squishing into her shoes. Kneeling down, she was able to reach him. He whimpered, moving his head from side to side, and that's when she saw it. Bella gasped, horror-stricken. "Oh my god!"

"What?" Simon exclaimed, his voice squeaking. "What, Bella? Please don't tell me you found an alligator down there or, or, or…one of those CHUDS you hear about in the Big City."

"Simon, shut up. I've got him, now help me get him the hell out." She exclaimed.

Bella cuddled the puppy to her chest. He whimpered again, looking up at her with his big black eyes and what she could only describe as gratitude. She had to get him out of there. She was completely horrified and angered over what she'd found when she picked him up. She hadn't seen it before because he was covered in mud and leaves. There was a rope tied around his neck with a rock tied at the other end. She knew what this meant, someone had done this to him on purpose and it made her blood boil.

She felt Simon reach in and grab under her arms, pulling her as far as the step and once she'd gotten her feet under her, he helped her out of the drain. She held the dog in one hand and the rock in the other. The rope was still around his neck, but she'd have to remove it once she was sitting down on the curb.

"Thanks, Si." She breathed out, shaky, angry tears springing to her eyes as she showed him what she'd found.

"Is that a rope?" He asked, somewhat dumbly, but with equal outrage in his voice.

"Somebody did this to him; tossed him out like trash." She spat out, her tears spilling down her cheeks. "Simon, who does that? How could anyone do that? And why the hell would they need a rock to weigh him down, it's not like he can get out on his own." She reasoned.

Simon seemed unsure of what to say as he opened his mouth to speak but no words forming. After a moment, his voice finally returned. "Yeah, B, that's seriously fucked up." He agreed, his face solemn as he looked at the puppy in concern. "We should get that off him. Come on, let's sit down."

Bella followed him, sitting down on the curb as she cuddled the puppy to her chest. Simon reached over and gently slipped the rope from the puppy's neck. Thankfully, it hadn't been tight enough to choke him. He whimpered pathetically and it almost brought more tears to Bella's eyes. This was cruelty she couldn't comprehend. Such an innocent creature; there was no reason for it. Bella held him closer, comforting the dog. Simon looked on, and she read concern on his face but she wasn't sure if it was for her or the dog. Knowing Simon, probably both. She gave a tight-lipped grin of reassurance, and he responded with one of his own.

"It'll be ok, Bella. You saved him, he's ok now."

"Couldn't have done it without you."

Simon shrugged like it was no big deal.

Bella handed him the puppy. "Hold him for a second."

Simon stuck his hands out, taking him from her. "Oh, gross, Bella…he's all slimy!" He whined, his nose crinkling in disgust.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Simon, how is it you can do all of the macho, stupid daredevil stunts and get dirty, bloody and smelly, but you get grossed out from a little slime?"

"Well, I don't know what this slime is, Isabella, this could be anything from poop to…radioactive alien sludge!" He exclaimed, the disgust in his voice contradicting the gentle way he held the puppy to his chest.

"If it were radioactive alien sludge, it'd be glowing." She volleyed as if his comment were entirely logical.

Simon furrowed his brow, thinking about that a moment and looking down to inspect the dirty puppy. "Good point." He mumbled finally, still grimacing. "But still…. Ugh, he stinks."

Bella rolled her eyes, good-naturedly, a smile coming to her lips as Simon held the puppy. She knew he was over exaggerating the disgust he felt just to make her smile, but not by much. Simon seriously hated goop he couldn't identify. But she was grateful for Simon and his ability to always put a smile on her face, especially in tough situations.

Bella and Simon were still sitting on the curb together, side by side, comforting the puppy. He was whimpering a little more now, giving Bella hope that he'd be ok. If he was whimpering, he had some energy left in him still. Maybe he hadn't been down there that long. She ran her hands over his little body to see if he was hurt anywhere, broken bones or bruises. He didn't seem to be in any pain. She was no veterinarian, but he seemed fine, other than the mud that had now dried and matted up his fur.

"He's so sweet, how could anyone do this to him?" Bella mumbled softly, petting him gently on the head and behind his ears.

"I don't know. What do we do with him?" Simon asked, stroking the puppy's matted fur.

Bella looked up at Simon. "I want to keep him."

Simon chuckled, shaking his head. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Well…he needs me, Simon. Look at him, he's so tiny and helpless. Someone tried to kill him."

"Hey, I'm not the one that's told you a million times that you can't have a dog. I'm not the one you're going to have to convince." He said pointedly.

Bella sighed, knowing he was right. There was no way her parents would let her keep this puppy, even if she did save his life. They would make her take him to the shelter, so somebody else could take him home. Her parents had told her several times that she couldn't have a dog, too much responsibility or some such nonsense. The last time was a while ago, though. She was 13 years old now; she could take more responsibility than she could before. As she pondered how she was going to convince her parents, she heard her cell phone ringing in her bag.

"Can you hand me my phone, Si. I bet that's Grandma, wondering where I am."

Simon grabbed the phone out of her bag, looking at the caller ID. "Yep." He confirmed, handing it to her.

"Hi, Grandma." Bella answered.

"Bella, where are you? I was worried sick, the bus should've dropped you off half an hour ago."

"I'm fine, Grandma. I'm with Simon, we're on our way."

"Well, ok, dear. You two hurry home."

"K." Bella replied, hanging up. "Let's go." She told Simon, standing up with the puppy in her arms. They began a brisk walk to her house, just a block down.

"Wait, are you going to take him home with you? What about your parents?"

"Of course I am! And…what they don't know won't hurt me."

"Ha! Yeah, right. Are you high? B, your parents aren't stupid, they're like…the smartest people I know. They'll know you have a dog in the house." He replied, following her. "He's a dog, he'll cry and bark. Not to mention all of the poop and piss stains he'll leave all over the floors. There's no way." He reasoned, waving his arms and shaking his head emphatically.

"I have to take care of him, Si. I can't just leave him. I'll figure something out."

"What about your Grandma, what are you going tell her? Or even worse, what about Mik, she'll give you away in half a second if she sees him." He stressed, raising his eyebrows in emphasis.

"Don't worry about Grandma, she'll be on my side. I might even be able to get her to help me convince my folks. As for Mik…yeah, she can't know either." Bella replied.

Simon shook his head in disbelief and great amusement. "This is going be so good, I can't wait to see this. Can I stay over for dinner, I don't want to miss the show?"

"Shut up."

"Are you just going to walk through the front door with him?" He asked, as they arrived at her home, standing at the steps of the front walk.

Bella scowled. "Ooo, good point. If Mik sees…." She trailed off in thought. "I know, you take him and wait outside my bedroom window until I can open it and let you in."

Simon rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "You are unhinged, Isabella House."

"That is quite possibly true." She admitted, nodding. "But just do it, Si, ok? Please?" She begged, handing him the puppy.

He sighed and took the puppy from her. "Oh man, this is going to be so good. I can't wait till your parents get home…I'm going to need some popcorn for tonight's entertainment. Oh my god, this is better than a movie, better than those monster truck rallies your dad took us to that time, better than-"

Bella huffed, indignant. "Shut up, Simon, just go." She shoved his shoulder, propelling him to move around the house to wait for her.

He laughed at her as he climbed the steps, his skateboard and backpack in one hand and the puppy in the other, and walked around the house to reach her bedroom window. Bella shucked her muddy shoes at the door, cringing at the sight of them as she went inside the house and quickly scampered to her room, hoping to delay the inevitable.

"Bella." And there it was. She heard her grandma calling from the kitchen, followed by Mik's excited squeal. "Lella!"

Bella stopped at her bedroom door, waiting for her grandma to find her. She came around the corner, holding her baby sister, Mikaela. "Hi, Grandma." Bella greeted casually, flashing her a smile like everything was normal and like she didn't resemble a mud-cicle.

Grandma gasped at her appearance. She looked Bella up and down, noticing her muddy and disheveled clothes. "What happened to you? Is everything ok? I thought you said Simon was with you? What is going-."

"Everything's fine, Grandma." Bella interrupted reassuringly, and leaning over to place a kiss on her little sister's cheek. Mik held her arms out for Bella, wanting to be held. Bella took her, dirty hands and all. Grandma cringed, not liking it a bit.

"What happened, you're filthy?"

"Fitty." Mik repeated, patting Bella's shirt.

Bella sighed inwardly, not wanting to explain what she'd been up to but knowing it was unavoidable. Grandma raised her eyebrows, waiting for her answer.

"I just found something and I had to get dirty to get to it." She explained cryptically, moving Mik's wandering fingers away from Bella's necklace as she tried to grab at it. Grandma grimaced at how dirty Bella's hands were and moved to take Mik from her. Mik held on to Bella though, not wanting to part from her big sister.

"Where, the sewer?" Grandma huffed, leaving Mik where she wanted to be, knowing already that she'd be washing her down later.

Bella tilted her head, and furrowed her brow, amused slightly that her Grandma had thrown that out there if only as a joke. "Sort of."

"What did you find that you had to get that dirty?" Grandma sighed.

"Um…" She started, glancing quickly to Mik, before shifting her eyes back to Grandma. "A…p-u-p-p-y." She spelled out so Mik wouldn't understand.

Grandma furrowed her brow, glancing at Mik, immediately understanding why she'd spelled the word. "A…p-u-p-p-y? And where exactly was this p-u-p-p-y?"

"Down the storm drain. Simon and I rescued him. Someone threw him down there, Grandma, he had a rope around his neck with a rock tied to the other end. It was awful, he was crying and whimpering, trying to get someone to hear him and when we found him he was dirty and messed up and hungry so I thought I'd bring him home and give him a bath and-." Grandma held her hand up, stopping Bella, her explanation having spilled out of her mouth. Grandma's mouth was agape as she listened to what had happened.

"Darling, that is horrible and I'm so glad you could help him," she said gently. "But I also know where this is going, so save it for your mother, she's the one you'll have to convince."

Bella nodded. "So you'll help me?"

Grandma sighed softly. "Honey, I'm not making any promises. But if I can help somehow, you know I will. Does it need a vet?"

Bella shrugged, "I don't know. He seems ok, like maybe he hadn't been down there for long. He didn't cry out when I checked him for broken bones and he wasn't bleeding."

Grandma nodded. "Ok, darling, but keep your eye on him and let me know if something changes."

Bella smiled and handed Grandma the baby. "Ok. Will you keep her occupied so she won't see him?" She asked, since Mik liked to get into everything.

Grandma took Mik from her. "Isabella, don't you go do something that I'm going to regret helping you with. I know you and the trouble you can dig up, just like your father."

"Just until I can convince Mom. I promise." Bella said, crossing her heart.

"Alright." She answered reluctantly.

Bella squealed and brought her arms around Grandma and Mik. Mik startled slightly before releasing her own squeal and clapping her hands.

"Thanks, Grandma!" Bella added.

Grandma hugged her loosely, avoiding the mud on her clothes but with a smile on her face. "Of course, baby. Now go give that d-o-g a bath, I can smell it from here. Or maybe it's you, dear." She added, looking Bella up and down again before shaking her head and walking away with Mik in her arms.

Bella dashed into her room, yelling her thanks. She ran over to the window where Simon was still waiting outside and opened it. She looked behind her, to make sure Mik was out of sight, before gesturing for Simon to hand her the dog.

"It's about time. He almost peed on me, you know." Simon huffed, passing the dog over to her.

Bella chuckled, cradling the puppy in her arms. "Come on, we need to give him a bath."

"What did Grandma say?"

"No promises, but she'll do what she can. She's keeping Mik occupied." Bella explained as Simon crawled through the window. "We can give him a bath in the tub."

Simon nodded, following her out of the bedroom and into the bathroom down the hall.

 **A/N: So…this story has been sitting on my computer for a lot of years now, unfinished. I thought if I start posting it, I'll make myself finish it. Truth be told, I have no idea if people still care about this story or if anyone still reads House fanfic. I haven't in years and maybe that's why I haven't finished this. And will you believe that I never even watched the last season of House M.D? It's true…I don't know how the show ended. I lost my desire to know after the catastrophe that was season 7. I realize Netflix has the entire series up, but I still don't care about that last season. Maybe someday... I basically moved on to a different show and started reading fanfic for that, although I never wrote anything for it. But I recently got the writing bug again and realized I have this unfinished story just sitting on my hard drive…instead of starting something else, maybe I should finish this one. I hope, not having seen the show in a while, that the character's 'voices' still come through in this story. I feel detached from it, so hopefully it won't make anyone run screaming. But if anyone does, I won't hold it against you.**

 **Anyway, if I recall correctly, this story started out as a small idea to continue telling Bella's story and to see how the Houses' lives are progressing, if only in my imagination. Will I keep writing fanfic for this universe? Who can say…but if I do or if I don't, I at least wanted to get this one out there. I don't know how many chapters there will be so I hope you guys will stick with me. Also, I make no promises as to the timeliness of my chapter postings. Except maybe one promise, it won't be years apart… ;-P**

 **This author's not has gotten out of control, so I'm gonna end it. I hope y'all enjoy the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Bella carried the puppy into the bathroom, Simon following closely behind her. She placed the squirmy puppy in the bathtub, calming him as he whined by gently stroking his ears and head, shushing him.

"We should give him some water, he's probably thirsty." Bella commented.

Simon grabbed a cup from the sink top and handed it to her. Bella glared at him. "Not with that, he can't drink out of a cup. Besides, I use that."

Simon smirked, shrugged and put it back. "What, then?"

Bella huffed and reached to other side of the tub where Mik's bath toys were kept in a plastic bin. Grabbing a plastic measuring cup that Mik used to dump water on her head playing in the bathtub, she leaned over and gently turned on the tap, filling it with water. Bella dipped her finger in and held it up to the puppy's lips, letting him get a taste. When he licked her finger, Bella smiled and did it again. Soon the puppy was seeking more, so she put the cup where he could drink out of it. Bella turned to Simon with a smile as the puppy drank greedily.

"Whoa…poor little guy was thirsty." Simon commented as he watched them.

Letting the puppy drink his fill, she reached over and turned on the tap again with her other hand, warming up the water for his bath. She didn't want to scare the puppy by turning the tap on too much so she let it trickle, hopefully getting him used to the sound of the running water. She gradually turned the knob so that the water was streaming more. He didn't seem to be bothered by it so, once the puppy was finished drinking, Bella grabbed another one of her little sister's cups and filled it with the warm water. Gently, she poured some water over the puppy's body, careful not to get his head too wet. As she did so, the mud and grime caked to his fur, ran off in a stream over the white tub and down the drain.

"I really hope none of that is dog shit." Simon commented, seemingly to himself as he watched over her shoulder.

"Shut up, Simon." She mumbled.

"If it is, it's all over you, what do you think of that?" He asked, raising his brows, smug.

"Then it would be all over you too." She retorted, glancing at his muddy shirt and back to his eyes with a smirk.

Simon lowered his eyes to his shirt with a scowl and warily brought it up to his nose, sniffing it. Bella watched him, pressing her lips together to keep her laughter from bubbling out. He lifted his eyes back up to Bella and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it smells but not like dog shit."

"I know, it smells like armpit. You really shouldn't get all sweaty at recess, Simon, the entire class would appreciate it." She joked.

"Shut up, I don't stink!" He exclaimed indignantly, sniffing his armpits just to make sure. Bella laughed and returned her attention to the puppy, who had begun whimpering.

Simon huffed. "You stink." He mumbled, drawing another laugh from Bella. God, she loved messing with him.

After a moment of silently watering the puppy down, Bella wondered aloud, furrowing her brow. "Do you think it's ok to use human shampoo on a dog?"

Simon shrugged, sitting down on the closed toilet seat as he watched her drench the puppy. "I don't know. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know, he's so small, what if he's allergic or it dries out his skin or something? He's just a baby." She responded, flashing concern at Simon before moving her gaze back to the puppy.

"Hm, I guess I never thought about it before."

Bella thought for a moment, shrugging her shoulders. "We could Google it?" She offered.

"Good idea, I'll grab your iPad." He said eagerly, leaving the bathroom in a flash.

She rolled her eyes at him; any chance he got to swipe her iPad, he took it. She couldn't blame him though; it was pretty awesome. It had been a Christmas gift last year from her parents and she loved it as much as her life.

As she waited for Simon to return, she continued to scoop water onto the puppy. She couldn't keep calling him 'the puppy' though; he needed a name. He deserved a name; after what someone did to him, he deserved an identity. He was mostly white, with a large patch of black fur that extended along his back and sides and two patches of black fur covering his eyes, giving him a sort of masked look. She would have to do research to know what kind of breed he was but the mask made him look a little like Zorro.

Zorro.

That's what she'd call him. Zorro. Perfect. She smiled, excited to have thought of a name that suited the little creature.

That moment, Simon came into the room, her iPad in his hands. "Ok, so apparently it's not cool to use human shampoo on a dog."

"But what about baby shampoo, does it say anything about that?"

"Uhm…let me see, give me a second." Simon did another search, typing into Google what he wanted to know.

As she waited, Zorro shivered, shaking and spraying Bella and the tub with droplets of dirty water.

"Ugh, gross, Zorro." She exclaimed, wiping her face with her forearm.

Simon glanced up and frowned in question. "Zorro?"

"Yeah, that's his name." Bella informed him, looking at Simon to get his impression.

He stared at her before shifting his eyes to the dog. "Oh I get it, Zorro, because of the mask." He stated, pointing at his black eyes.

Bella smiled, happy that he understood her logic in naming him. "Exactly."

"I'd name him Rocket, though, because he looks more like a raccoon."

Bella turned a scowl in his direction. "What? No, he doesn't. And why Rocket the raccoon, what is that?"

"Uh, hello…Guardians of the Galaxy." Simon replied.

Bella gave him a blank stare and a shrug of her shoulders.

"It's a comic book, they made a movie…you promised you'd watch it with me." He continued, his tone one of hopeful recognition.

She furrowed her brow. "There's a raccoon in that movie, whose name is Rocket? Did I really promise to watch this movie with you, because it doesn't sound like a promise I'd make?"

"No takesie-backsies, you promised."

Bella huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So what does it say about baby shampoo?"

"Oh. Well, you're really not supposed to but…I don't know, B, you think it'll hurt him this one time?"

Bella shifted her eyes to Zorro, watching him squirm around in the tub, crying out in displeasure. His little pads couldn't get a grip so he mostly turtled around it. She shrugged her shoulders. "Probably not. It's all I have anyway, I'll just use a little bit."

Simon nodded his approval.

Bella reached for the shampoo, squirting a small dab into her palm. She gently held Zorro steady with one hand and lathered him up with shampoo with the other. Bella was careful not to get any in his eyes or ears, but made sure the rest of him was good and soapy. She rinsed him off and lathered him up again just to make sure she got all the gunk off him. When she'd managed that, Bella doused him with water again, rinsing all of the soap away. Zorro whined and squirmed but she continued to gently wash all of the shampoo from his fur. He tried to shake the water off his body again but Bella held onto him tightly. He looked like a different dog, so shiny and clean now. She asked Simon for a washcloth to clean his face and head. That took longer, but when she finished she made sure there was no trace of muck on him anywhere.

"Hand me a towel, Si." Bella said, holding one hand out to grab it.

She took the towel and wrapped it around Zorro, lifted him from the tub and thoroughly dried him off. When she removed the towel and he looked up at her, he shook his head, spraying water droplets onto Bella's face. She laughed, delighted with the small fluffy creature in her arms. His fur was frizzed out but he looked completely adorable; it even crinkled in some places. Bella placed a kiss on his little forehead, receiving a lick to her nose for her trouble. She giggled, swiping her nose where he'd licked her.

"Wow, he smells way better now." Simon commented.

"Isn't he so cute?" Bella gushed.

Simon rolled his eyes.

Bella moved past him to leave the bathroom, Zorro safely tucked into her chest. She hastily moved to her bedroom, making sure her little sister was nowhere around. If Mik saw him, she would surely give it away to her parents before Bella could have a chance to explain. She loved her little sister, but she was still a baby, and she would inadvertently blab about Zorro; she wouldn't understand to keep it a secret. Just like most 20 month olds she had a limited vocabulary, but doggie was a word she knew well along with the sounds they made, having seen them around the neighborhood and heard their barking. She also knew kitty because of Splat. No, Bella needed to keep this between herself, Simon and Grandma until the right moment to convince her parents; her mother in particular.

Bella and Simon settled into her bedroom, closing the door behind them and setting Zorro down on the floor to let him move around a bit. He was still wet and he whined, shaking his body, spraying water droplets. Bella looked up at Simon. "You said he peed already, right?" She asked, concerned that Zorro would relieve himself on her rug and she'd have to clean it up and explain the pee smell.

"Yeah, the little gremlin narrowly missed peeing on my shirt." He pouted. "But he did drink all that water before." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah, we should take him out again."

"You mean you…you should take him out. He's your dog."

Bella sighed; he had a point, Zorro was her responsibility and she should take him out.

She nodded and picked Zorro up, moving to the window. She'd have to crawl out instead of going out the front door or to the backyard to avoid Mik getting a glimpse of him.

Back in her bedroom, Bella giggled, shifting her eyes to Zorro and watched as he fumbled around the room on shaky legs. It was cute and sort of funny to watch. Bella wasn't an expert on dogs but she knew enough to know he was probably born just a few weeks ago. If she had to guess, she'd say he was about 6 or 7 weeks old. When he walked, he angled sideways instead of forward, and his legs were wobbly; he had little control over where he was going. As he wobbled and zigzagged the room, sniffing everything, he circled back to the end of the bed and found the pajamas she'd shucked that morning and plopped his tired body down. Bella watched him sadly. He had to be exhausted. She looked at Simon, who was watching the puppy as well before he shifted his eyes to her.

"He's tired." Simon said, stating the obvious.

Bella nodded. "Probably hungry too."

Simon nodded in agreement to that.

Zorro closed his eyes, laying his head down on her pajamas that he'd claimed for a bed. He released a heavy, contented sigh and that's when Bella knew he'd fallen asleep. She looked to Simon again, giving him a small grin. "Guess he feels safe now." She mumbled.

Simon nodded again.

"We'll let him rest a little while and then I'll hunt down something to feed him."

"Hey, is your cat going to freak out when he sees the dog?" He asked, suddenly.

Bella shrugged, not having thought about Splat's reaction to Zorro before now. "Probably. He's an indoor cat; he's never been exposed to a dog before. I'll have to keep my eye on him."

Simon hummed in agreement.

Before he could comment further, they heard a bang against the bedroom door, quickly followed by a high-pitched squeal and…"Lella!"

Another bang. "Lella!"

Bella looked at Simon, her eyes wide with panic. "Crap." She mumbled.

Simon moved to pick up Zorro, startling him awake and drawing a whine out of him. He stepped to the window, intending to crawl out with Zorro in his arms. Bella scrambled to her feet and grabbed Simon by the elbow, redirecting him to her closet.

"What the hell, B?" He asked.

"No time, just get in my closet."

"Is that where you keep your unmentionables?" He snarked.

Bella slapped him on the back of the head for that and shoved him inside. "Why, you want to try them on?" She retorted before slamming the door in his face.

All the while, Mik was banging on the door, demanding entrance and yelling for her big sister. As Bella opened the door, Zorro chose that moment to release a displeased yip from inside the closet. Bella whipped her head around to the closet door, her eyes wide before looking back to Mikaela to see if she'd heard. She had.

"Ooof ooof." She replied. "Doddie." She added, lifting her arms up to Bella to be picked up.

Bella knelt down, scooping her into her arms. "Mik, where's Grandma? Go find Grandma, ok?" She instructed gently, kissing her little sister's cheek.

"Doddie, Lella." She informed her, pointing a little finger inside Bella's room.

"No, Mik, no doggie. Let's go find Grandma."

"Noooo. Lella, doddiiiiiee. Ooof ooof." She protested loudly in Bella's ear.

Bella scrunched her nose at the volume of her sister's shrieks and sighed. "That's right, Mik. Doggies say woof woof." She told her, making her way toward the kitchen where she thought Grandma was. "Grandma!" Bella called out.

"I'm in the laundry room, darling."

"Doddie." Mik continued, holding her hand out toward Bella's room, begging to be returned to where she'd heard the bark.

Bella hoped Mik wasn't about to break down into a tearful fit when she found Grandma folding some of Mik's clothes in the laundry room. Grandma turned, seeing Bella with Mik. "Oh, Bella, I'm sorry darling. I didn't realize she'd wandered off."

"It's ok, Grandma."

Grandma set the folded clothes down in the basket and reached to take Mik. Bella handed her over. "How's it going with the p-u-p-p-y, dear?"

Bella smiled. "Ok, so far. I gave him a bath and he looks totally different. I named him Zorro."

"Rorro." Mik repeated, having heard Bella say a new word. "Doddie, oof oof."

Bella rolled her eyes. "She's going to ruin it, Grandma." She pouted. "She heard him b-a-r-k in my bedroom and now she won't stop. Mom and Dad are going to know something's up."

Grandma laughed and nodded her head. "Probably." She agreed, an indulgent smile on her face. "But darling, your parents weren't born yesterday, they'll know something's up without this one's help. I don't know how you're going to hide a p-u-p-p-y from them for very long, anyway. But I'll keep Mik away the best I can."

Bella sighed, thinking all of this had suddenly become a very bad idea. She nodded and placed a kiss on Grandma's cheek. "Thanks, Grandma, you're the best. It's just until I can talk mom and dad into letting me keep him."

Bella turned to leave but stopped at the sound of Grandma's voice. "Bella, take those dirty clothes off and give them to me to wash, darling. They'll give you away before Mik can."

"Good point." Bella readily agreed, looking down at her mud stained clothes.

"Sorry about the mess." She mumbled to her grandma in apology. Grandma normally did their laundry, much to Mom's frustration, saying it was more reasonable since she was there all day with Mik anyway. "I can wash them." She offered, hating that it'd made more work for her Grandma.

Grandma waved her off, throwing her an indulgent smile. "Don't worry, darling."

Bella returned her smile, moving to throw her arms around Grandma's waist in a quick hug, before stopping herself, realizing she'd transfer mud all over her grandmother's clothes. She lowered her arms and chuckled before making her way out of the room, Mik's protest at being left behind following her out.

Before returning to her bedroom, Bella detoured to the pantry and stared at its contents, hoping to find some food to feed Zorro. Not having any luck there, she moved to the fridge. What were you supposed to feed a puppy that young? Bella wasn't sure when puppies were weaned from their mother's milk. Would he drink regular milk? Maybe she could feed him a little bit of Splat's dry food softened in milk…for now, until she could get actual puppy food. She quickly prepared Zorro a meal and made her way back to her bedroom, opening the closet door and seeing Simon on the floor holding Zorro. He looked up at her.

"We in the clear?" Simon asked from his position on the floor, looking up at Bella.

Bella nodded, holding the bowl of food in her hands. "I got this for him to eat. He's probably starving. It won't be his mother's milk, so I hope he eats it."

Simon stood up and stepped out with Zorro squirming to get down. He probably smelled the food. It hadn't had much time to soften so she'd have to watch him so he wouldn't go overboard and choke.

"He's probably so hungry he won't care what it is." Simon replied.

Bella set the bowl down; it was one of Splat's. Zorro moved over to it and sniffed before he planted his snout deep into the food mixture. He opened his mouth and began practically inhaling the food. Bella's eyes went wide, fearing he was going to choke. She grabbed hold of him and moved him back a little but he just dove back in head first.

Bella sighed and stood up. "Will you watch him, I have to change my clothes."

She turned around to her dresser, grabbed her clothes and made her way out of the room to change in the bathroom.

"Hurry up, I think he'll have to pee again soon."

"I just took him!" She exclaimed, before walking back in and glaring at Simon.

"B, his bladder is probably the size of a pea…..oh! See what I did there?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot." She groused before leaving her room, hearing Simon's laughter all the way to the bathroom.

"I'm hungry." Simon declared.

"You're always hungry." Bella retorted, briefly shifting her eyes away from Zorro to Simon.

"I need to eat right now or I'm going to die."

Bella looked over at him again with amusement. "Oh really? You're going to die if you don't get food right this second?"

"Don't be a smartass. I'm freakin' starving. I could seriously eat an entire pizza, right now."

"The last time you ate an entire pizza, you puked for half an hour."

Simon cringed. "Oh god, yeah I remember that. That was not my favorite day." He mused.

"Mine either, I almost barfed just listening to you barf."

Simon looked at her. "You got any Hot Pockets?"

It was Bella's turn to cringe; speaking of barfing, she hated Hot Pockets. "I think my mom keeps them for you in the freezer, but I don't promise my dad didn't get into them."

"Your mom is the best…I love your mom." Simon replied. "Your dad scares me, but I love your mom."

"You got a little crush on my mom there, Si?" She laughed.

Simon blushed, shaking his head. "No." He answered, but she was not convinced.

Bella chuckled as she held Zorro in her arms. He had fallen asleep not long after they're second trip outside for a pee break. She and Simon were currently sitting across from each other. Bella curled up under her tent with Zorro cuddled in the crook of her neck and shoulder and Simon on her blue plush beanbag chair, tossing one of Splat's toys into the air. Bella had no idea where Splat was, but she was secretly glad he wasn't in her room at the moment because of Zorro. She was having a hard time deciding what to do with him. She couldn't hide him for long before her parents figured out he was in the house. He would bark and whine, totally giving himself away. And it seemed she had to take him outside to do his business every five minutes. She had to come up with a way to convince her mom before Zorro's presence was noticed. But how?

Mom wouldn't be home for hours still, so she had some time. Dad had been really busy the last several days trying to figure out how to save his patient. When he had a puzzle to solve, it was all he thought about until he knew what the problem was. She didn't even know if he would be home tonight. He hadn't come home until late last night and had left for the hospital right before she had to get the bus for school. And Grandma said she'd help but she already had her hands full with Mik.

Simon suddenly shot up from the beanbag, tossing Splat's toy aside. "I'm going to the kitchen." He announced, making his way out of the room.

Zorro woke at the sudden commotion in the room and Bella smiled at how cute he was when he had just opened his eyes from sleep. He was such a sweet dog and Bella very badly wanted to keep him. Clearly no one was looking for him since he got tossed out like garbage, she thought bitterly. Zorro deserved justice for that. Someone needed to pay for what they'd done to him but she knew it would be impossible to figure out who it was.

Several minutes later, Simon strolled back into her room, carrying a plate with two steaming Hot Pockets and a bag of spicy Doritos.

"You are such a pig." Bella commented.

"I told you I was hungry. You guys have the best snacks here, I'm thinking of moving in." He replied, sitting down on the beanbag again, as he balanced his snacks.

"You better not puke in my room. I'll have to kill you and I don't feel like going to jail."

Simon rolled his eyes and took a hefty bite of his Hot Pocket. He hissed and fanned his mouth as he chewed noisily, trying to cool off his scalded tongue. Bella watched him with disgust. "Actually, I may puke." She amended.

"Oh god, my tongue." Simon complained, his eyes slightly watery as he continued to fan at his mouth.

Bella rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his idiocy. Zorro lifted his nose, sniffing the air. He whined softly and turned, licking Bella's nose. "I think he's hungry again."

"Well, I'm not sharing with him." Simon mumbled, shoving another bite into his mouth.

"He can't eat that crap and I wouldn't feed it to him if he could. I can't even believe you eat it." She told him, standing up with Zorro in her arms. "I'm going to go see what else I can find for him."

Bella set Zorro down on the floor. "Watch him, Si." She instructed as she made her way out of the room. When she reached the kitchen she pulled open the fridge, hoping to find some leftovers but staring at it wasn't going to make it materialize. She couldn't keep feeding him cat food. Zorro had practically inhaled it earlier, but it wasn't good for him on a regular basis. But now she wasn't sure what to give him. She had to figure something else out.

After coming up empty in the fridge, she sighed in frustration leaning against the kitchen counter, thinking. Suddenly Bella perked up, an idea coming to mind. She smiled and shuffled back to her bedroom.

"Come on, Si, please?"

"Why do I have to do it? That Old Bat hates me." He exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"No she doesn't, and don't call her that. She's a nice lady." Bella told him with an eye roll. "You have to do it because I have to stay here with Zorro."

"I could stay with him." Simon offered, with a shrug.

"I'm not leaving you here in my room _alone_ so you can snoop in my stuff. How stupid do you think I am?"

"You left me alone like a minute ago." He replied.

"You were distracted with food. I have to take my opportunities when they're presented, Si." Bella explained, raising her eyebrows. "Come on, please? Mrs. Kensington has like four dogs so she wouldn't mind parting with some food.

Simon glared, shoving another chip into his mouth, annoyed. "I don't want to. Can't we just feed him cat food again?"

"He needs dog food."

Simon heaved a sigh, dropping his head against the back of the beanbag he was still seated in. "Fine." He capitulated. "But I'm taking these with." He added after a moment, lifting his head and presenting the bag of Doritos he was snacking on.

Bella shrugged. "Whatever, I don't care. Thanks, Si."

Simon stood up, his chips still in hand. "And I'm going to need another soda to take with me too." He bargained.

"Fine." She agreed, wishing he would just shut up and do what she asked already.

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the roar of her dad's motorcycle outside. Bella looked up at Simon with panic and noticed the expression mirrored on his face. No, no, no, he couldn't be home now. How was she going to hide Zorro from her dad, he'd know immediately? What was he doing home anyway; didn't he have a patient? As Bella inwardly freaked out, Simon did the opposite.

"Shit, Bella, your dad!" He exclaimed. "What are we going to do? He's going to see Zorro and blame me and kick me out. I'll never be allowed back here. What do we do, B?"

Bella snapped out of it and turned her attention to Simon. "Oh my god, calm down, Simon. He will not. Just shut up and let me think."

As Simon paced the bedroom, worrying his shaggy head about her dad, Bella pondered what to do with Zorro. She heard Mik screaming excitedly for their dad through her closed bedroom door, having no doubt heard the bike as well. Bella kneeled down and picked Zorro up, hugging him to her chest, a worried frown on her face.

Simon spun around from pacing her bedroom. "Bella, what do we do?" He asked, still panicked.

Bella looked up at him, shaking her head. "I don't know."

 **A/N: Thank you everyone for taking the time to read/favorite/story alert/follow/review this story and/or any of my other installments of this series. I have so much fun writing this stuff and the fact that anyone reads it, blows me away. So thank you!**

 **Also, in the first chapter's author's note, I should have added that if anyone hasn't read the previous stories, this one is not going to make any sense to you. The characters in the first few scenes of this story are mine that I created in the first installment,** ** _Traveling Light_** **. House and Cuddy come in next chapter, but they are there and this is a House M.D. story. ;-) I really should have noted that tidbit. Hope I didn't drive anyone away. My bad!**

 **Thanks again for reading! The next chapter will be up soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

House pulled into the driveway on his bike, leaving enough room for Cuddy to park the car when she got home. He turned the engine off and removed his helmet. He had pondered taking a long drive around the winding roads of New Jersey to enjoy the perfect riding weather since he hadn't had a chance recently to ride his bike because of the constant spring rain. But he quickly decided against it when he thought about how much time he'd spent away from his girls the last few days trying to figure out what was happening with his latest patient. Having finally diagnosed him today, he left early while his fellows stayed behind to finish the paperwork.

House opened the front door, and the first thing he heard was Mik running toward him from the kitchen, her little chubby legs propelling her toward him. He allowed a smile to come to his face when she paused at the door and squealed when she saw him. Mik started running again and he bent down to catch her when she launched herself into his arms.

"Daddeee!" She screamed happily.

House swung her up into the air, getting a squeal of exhilaration from her before hugging her to his chest and going after her neck, placing kisses and blowing raspberries. "Hey, squirt." He greeted amidst her laughter.

House looked up, noticing Grandma Cuddy standing at the threshold of the kitchen with a smile on her face. He smirked at her and made his way over. "Hey, Granny."

"Greg, you're home early. How's your patient doing?" She asked, delighted to see him.

"Healed." He replied, giving Grandma Cuddy a peck on the cheek. "Miss me?"

"Oh not really." She shrugged, amusement flashing in her eyes as she teased him.

House narrowed his eyes at her before shifting his attention to Mik, who had her head on his shoulder, her arms around his neck. "Mik, did Grandma miss Daddy?" He asked.

"Daddy." She replied, patting his chest.

House turned his head to Grandma again, flashing a smile and raising his eyebrows. "I'll take that as a yes." He snarked.

Grandma laughed.

"Where's my oldest?" He asked.

"In her room with Simon, dear." Grandma answered him, turning to head back into the kitchen.

House rolled his eyes and turned around, making his way to Bella's room, Mik going along for the ride. They should just build that boy his own bedroom. He sort of felt as if he and Cuddy had adopted another kid with how frequently Simon was there. He liked him, he was good kid; a little weird, and he always acted like a 9 year old on a sugar rush, but he was a good kid. He'd never admit that to Cuddy since she had drilled it into his head since they'd known him. House knew the boy had a troubled home life and didn't really mind his presence at theirs, but he did love griping about it; and he also couldn't resist giving the kid a hard time. He was such an easy mark and House was pretty sure he had the kid scared of him.

House reached Bella's door and stood there listening for any sign of…whatever they were up to. He heard movement and a strange noise, but he couldn't be sure what was going on. His lip curled into a smirk as he placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it and burst into the room.

Mik was surprisingly quiet. He liked to think that his kid was smart enough to know what he was about to do even though she couldn't possibly. In a flash, House turned the doorknob and swung the door open. What he saw wasn't what he thought he'd see when he opened the door. Actually, he didn't really know what he thought he'd see, just maybe what his fatherly instincts were afraid he'd see. Bella was seated on the floor; her back against the wall and Simon was across from her, seated on Bella's beanbag chair. They were tossing a cat toy back and forth to one another. Bella had startled slightly when he opened the door and Simon looked up at House with wide eyes.

"Hey, Dad." Bella greeted him with a smile, the picture of innocence.

"Hey, Dr. H. How's the world of diagnostic medicine?" Simon asked in greeting, tossing the toy back to Bella.

House shifted his eyes between the two, knowing something was up but not sure what. They recovered pretty quickly from his sudden intrusion into the room. Suddenly, Mik decided to speak up.

"Doddie, ooof, ooof." She said.

House turned a confused look at Mik's random outburst for a moment, before shaking his head and looking back to Bella and Simon. "Why was your door closed?" He asked, suspiciously.

Bella shrugged nonchalantly. "We wanted to keep Mik out."

"Why?"

"She gets into things." Bella calmly informed him.

House studied her carefully and then his eyes scanned her bedroom, noting the clothes spread out all over the floor, books piled up beside her bed, shoes thrown haphazardly around the room. "How could you even tell?" He snarked, his eyes going back to his scheming daughter, but she didn't seem to be lying.

"What are you up to?" He questioned, still suspicious.

Bella frowned and glanced at Simon before looking back to House, shrugging. "What do you mean, Dad, we're just talking."

"I mean, what were you doing before I interrupted what you were really doing?"

Bella frowned, appearing confused as to whether or not his question made any sense. With a roll of her eyes, she said, "Dad, that doesn't make any sense. But geez, you're so suspicious."

"Of course I'm suspicious…it's my job." He informed her before eyeing Simon, sternly. "As a father."

Simon gulped and House held his smirk in, keeping a straight face. God, he loved messing with this kid. "Rough day on the playground?" He asked Simon, pointing to the big mud stain on his shirt.

Simon furrowed his brow before turning his eyes to where House was pointing and back up. He opened his mouth to respond but Mik supplied an answer instead. Albeit, one that made no sense.

"Ooof, oof, oof. Doddie, Daddy." Mik said again, stretching her arm out, gesturing inside the room.

House furrowed his brow, breaking his stare with Simon. He turned his attention to Mik again, confused. He noticed Bella's quick glance to Simon in his peripheral vision, causing House to focus on her again.

"Why does she keep doing that?" House questioned, pointing to Mik.

Bella shrugged, opening her mouth to respond, but again the answer was interrupted.

"Oh, Greg, would you leave those two alone. They're just being kids. Now, give me that baby so I can change her diaper." Grandma Cuddy commanded as she walked up behind him, gesturing for him to pass Mik over to her. "Unless you want to, dear." She added pointedly.

House narrowed his eyes but did as she said, handing over the baby. He was still suspicious so he turned his attention back to Bella and Simon. "The door stays open."

Bella huffed. "Dad, come on, gimme a break. Grandma told you, we were just talking. And Mik wouldn't leave us alone, we had to close the door." She whined.

House watched them carefully before giving in and nodded, throwing a sigh out, too tired to care at the moment. "Fine." Whatever was going on, he'd figure it out sooner or later, he always did.

Bella sighed in relief, he noticed. He narrowed his eyes once more before leaving and closing the door behind him.

They were so up to something.

"Greg, are you sure you don't need me to stay a while longer so you can get some rest before dinner? You've been working hard lately." Grandma Cuddy asked.

House was seated on the couch in the living room, his hand extended out in front of him as he accepted blocks that Mik retrieved from a pile she had dumped onto the floor and was handing to him.

House shook his head. "I'm fine, Grandma. Take off, go home, go play Bridge or Bingo or knit a sweater. You know, do whatever it is old people do with their free time."

Grandma glared at him, pointing her finger threateningly. "Watch it, buster."

House chuckled, rolling his eyes. "See you tomorrow."

Grandma heaved a sigh. "Fine, see you tomorrow. Enjoy time with your girls, Greg."

House nodded before Grandma turned and made her way out of the house. A few minutes later, he heard the door to Bella's bedroom open and saw her and Simon trudge passed the living room.

"Going outside, Dad." Bella called as they quickly made their way toward the kitchen, headed to the backyard.

They were gone before he had a chance to question them and he glanced to Mik as she continued her game of block retrieval, placing them into his hands. House glanced back in the direction that Bella and Simon had disappeared. They were up to something and he was going to figure out what it was. It was rare that his oldest daughter wasn't getting into mischief so he needed to keep track of her. He had been distracted with his patient for several days, so he wasn't sure if it was something new she was up to or if he had been too busy to notice that she had been up to something for longer. He wondered if Cuddy knew. House stood up, grabbing his cane, ready to find out.

"Come on, Little Bit, let's go see what your sister is doing." He told Mik.

"Daaaddy." She pouted, causing him to turn his head to her.

Mik stood next to the couch with a block in each hand, staring up at him, clearly not ready to give up playing with him. She held one block out for him to take. House sighed inwardly, turning his head once more to where Bella had gone and then back to Mik. It seemed his littlest needed him more than he needed to find out what was up with his oldest. He missed them both but Bella was too old to have her old man watching her every move like he wanted to do. His baby, though, was not.

House sighed again, figuring he'd find out one way or another what was going on, so he went back to the couch and continued playing with Mik. She handed him both blocks and turned to retrieve more, her little bare feet slapping against the hardwood floors as she moved quickly toward her pile of blocks.

Bella opened the gate to the backyard, looking back for her dad in case he decided to follow them outside. Zorro was securely tucked in her arms and she couldn't believe they had managed to get out of the house without him crying out or her dad seeing him. It was a bold move, but it had to be done. She had decided to wear one of her large, bulky sweaters to conceal him; thankful to the spring chill they were experiencing that day. Simon was walking ahead of her and he turned around as they made it to the end of the driveway.

"Whoa, we did it. I can't believe that worked. So now what?"

"Well, I got my allowance money, let's go to the store and buy him some food."

"What about Mrs. Kensington, I thought we were going to get some from her."

"I thought about it, and I think she'd accidentally tell my mom. We should just go buy some."

Simon shrugged. "Ok. But what if your dad comes looking for you?"

"Simon, stop worrying about what my dad is going to do, let's just go so we can get back and he'll never know."

Simon huffed. "Yeah, right. I think your parents have trackers and spy cameras everywhere, they will know what we've done, Bella." He warned her as they walked side by side down the walk. "They know all." He added under his breath as he looked around for those spy cameras he was convinced were watching him. Giving him her default reaction, she rolled her eyes. "You watch too much television." She mumbled.

Cuddy opened the front door, tiredly hanging her keys up on the key hook next to the door before setting her bag by the hallway table. The house was quiet. Normally she'd have her youngest girl wobbling on shaky legs, running to meet her at the door. She frowned, wondering where everybody was. She knew House had come home after his patient had been diagnosed and he had probably sent her mother home, taking over watching the girls. Bella didn't have any activities today, so she should have been home. A moment later she heard a muffled squeal coming from the backyard. Cuddy smiled, having located her family. She knew Mik loved the trampoline and Bella loved jumping on it with her.

Cuddy made her way out to join her family. Opening the back door, she was surprised to see only House and Mik out there. Cuddy shifted her eyes around the backyard, seeking her eldest daughter but not finding her. She briefly wondered if she was at a friend's house. Cuddy stepped onto the deck, walking over to the railing and watched as Mik chased House around the yard, her little legs running as fast as they'd go while he limped away from her.

Cuddy smiled, admiring the way House loved his littlest girl; watched him smiling from ear to ear as he played with her. When they'd first found out about Mik, they were shocked. They hadn't been trying to get pregnant, and Cuddy had pretty much given up on it years earlier, the thought never entering her mind to try anymore. They had been happy with the little family they had, having worked so hard to get to where they were. Bella was a blessing in their lives.

But now they had two blessings. At first the pregnancy had taken a toll on Cuddy. She was constantly exhausted, the morning sickness was brutal and she was extremely hormonal. Thinking about it now, she was surprised they made it through unscathed. After the first trimester, though, things had settled down and it had been mostly smooth sailing from then on. They'd had to keep a closer eye on her condition because of her age, but there hadn't been any real complications. Bella had been a huge help throughout the entire pregnancy; doing everything she could to make Cuddy feel better when it became overwhelming.

When she had been put on bedrest towards the end of the pregnancy, there had been days she thought she couldn't take it, lashing out for no reason at anyone who happened to be nearby. But Bella never let it get to her, and she had been there to cheer Cuddy up every chance she got. House had been a rock; sometimes an infuriating rock that she wanted to crush into teeny tiny dust particles with a rubber mallet, but a rock nonetheless. Cuddy often thought back to her pregnancy and she's positive she'd go through it all again in a heartbeat; but at the time, when she felt like a beached whale, she wondered why she had ever wanted to put herself through all of it on purpose at one point in her life. And then Mikaela was born and she had her answer.

And now, Mik was in her toddler phase, getting her little hands on everything she could reach and sometimes climbing to get to things she couldn't. Mikaela House was a handful. Just like her Daddy…and her sister. But Cuddy wouldn't have it any other way.

House had finally spotted her watching them, so he directed Mik's attention her way. When Mik saw Cuddy, she screamed.

"Mama Mamaaaa! Her little arms held out as she ran to greet her. Cuddy winced when Mik's shoes tripped her up in the grass, but stood up again as if nothing had happened.

Cuddy laughed, stretching out her hands to Mik as she moved down the steps.

"Hi, my baby girl." Cuddy murmured, scooping her up and pressing kisses over Mik's face and neck, hugging her tightly.

Mik placed both hands on Cuddy's cheeks, laughing as she was assaulted with kisses.

"Mommy missed you." She told Mik.

"Mommy mitt." Mik echoed, patting her mother's cheeks.

Cuddy chuckled, placing one last kiss on Mik's cheek before turning her attention to House, who was watching with his lip curled up in a half smile.

"Where's Bella?" Cuddy asked.

"Her room with the boyfriend." House replied, nodding in that general direction.

Cuddy frowned. Boyfriend?

"Simon." House clarified, stepping up to Cuddy and placing a kiss on her lips.

Cuddy rolled her eyes; he was ridiculous. "He's not her boyfriend, House. He's too much like a brother to her."

"You're wrong, he totally checks her out when he thinks no one's looking." House replied with a fatherly frown, as they turned and made their way inside, closing the door to the slight spring chill.

Cuddy huffed, shaking her head. "He does not."

"He's a teenage boy, trust me, he does." He said.

"Oof, oof, Mommy." Mik cut in.

Cuddy looked at her, a tiny smile curving her lips. "That's right, baby, doggies say woof, woof." She muttered, kissing her little cheek.

"Doddie, oof, oof, oof. Oof oof oof oof."

Cuddy looked at House before shifting her eyes to Mik once more. She was a bit confused, wondering what had triggered Mik to keep going on like that. Usually she only did that right after she'd heard a dog barking, but Cuddy hadn't heard the neighborhood dogs when they were outside. She decided to change the subject.

"Are the kids doing their homework?" Cuddy questioned, looking at House.

He shrugged. "Had my hands full with this one." He pointed to Mik.

"Doddie oof oof." Mik spoke again.

Cuddy looked to Mik again before shifting her eyes back to her husband hoping he could clarify. "Has she been around a dog today?" She asked.

House shook his head and rolled his eyes, shrugging dismissively. "She's been doing that since I got home. She either saw one and she's obsessed, or she's paranoid."

Cuddy nodded. "O-kay." She brushed her lips over Mik's cheek before changing the subject again. "It's late, do we just want to order in?"

"Great minds, my love!" House declared dramatically. "Mr. Chang's, already on the way. Should be here any minute." He answered, opening the fridge and removing a bottle of water.

"Uice, Daddy!" Mik requested before he could close the fridge door.

"No juice for you this late, kiddo. Mommy and Daddy don't need you bouncing off the walls; we'd actually like to get to bed at a decent hour. How about some milk?"

"Uice." She insisted.

"Nope." House answered, shaking his head, holding out the sippy cup with milk. "Milk."

Mik opened her mouth to argue until House moved the cup to his lips, pretending to take a sip. When she realized he wanted it, she held her hand out for the cup. Worked every time. Cuddy pressed her lips together, holding in the chuckle at her daughter's antics.

As Mik drank her milk, Cuddy passed her off to House. "Here Daddy, take the little one, I'm going to go say hi to Bella and Simon."

"We should train him to ride my skateboard." Simon suggested.

Bella frowned. "Why? What good is that?"

"It's awesome, we could put it up on YouTube."

"Simon, that's already been done, nobody cares anymore."

"Ok, well, maybe we should train him to talk."

Bella sighed. "Si, your blood sugar is low; it's the only explanation for the shit you're spewing."

Just then a knock came at the door, the knob twisting as it was pushed open a crack. "Bella." She heard her mom say.

Bella's eyes went wide before shifting them to Simon and hopping up in a flash, making her way to the door so her mom wouldn't walk in and see Zorro. She didn't even know mom was home already. Bella put on a smile as she reached the door and she heard Simon scrambling to get Zorro into the closet, semi-silently. Zorro let out a yowl in protest right before Simon tossed the cat toy in with him.

Bella held her breath, hoping her mother hadn't heard it, but knowing she had by the look on her face.

"What was that?" Mom asked Bella, a furrow in her brow as she tried to peek into the bedroom.

"Oh that was just me, Dr. C. I totally just slammed my big toe into the bed." Simon supplied from behind Bella. "That shit hurts, man. I feel like it's broken, though, do you think you could take a look? You know, since you're a doctor and stuff."

Bella opened the door to her mom as she turned a scowl to Simon, before rolling her eyes. Like her mom would fall for that. Ignoring Bella, Simon continued.

"I think maybe you should, but not in here, because Bella's room is kinda dark and you can't really see shit in here, no offence, B. I mean it does give it a kinda nice, cozy feeling and sometimes I just want to curl up into a ball like a little kitty and fall asleep in here, but not that I would…because that'd be weird, and wrong. And I would never, never do that." He shook his head emphatically as he babbled on, standing on one leg, his hand holding up his 'injured toe'. "But maybe we should go into the living room or something where there's more light so you could see my toe and maybe-."

"Simon, would you shut up!" Bella hissed, a look of horror crossing her face as she snuck a glance at her mom to see her reaction.

Mom pretty much had the same look on her face as Bella did, except with a lot more confusion mixed in, and maybe a little bit of suspicion too. Great.

Simon's eyes were slightly widened, obviously horrified by his own outburst. Mom looked around the room as Bella waited to be discovered for hiding a dog in the house. She kept her eyes glued to her mom for any sign of what she was going to say next. Finally, she turned her eyes to Bella.

"What is going on in here?" Mom asked.

Bella furrowed her brow, feigning confusion. "Um, what do you mean, Mom?"

"I mean…why does your room look like a natural disaster struck and why is Simon blabbering on about his toe being broken; which it isn't, because if it were, you wouldn't be holding it like that." She said, turning to Simon.

Simon released his foot, letting it drop to the floor as if it weren't attached to his body, and the movement immediately caused him to place weight on it. He gave her a guilty look as he fidgeted under her scrutiny.

"What is on your shirt?" She asked, pointing at the dried mud stain caked in the middle of his school uniform where he'd been holding Zorro earlier.

Simon looked down, his eyes widening in panic after realizing what she was talking about.

Bella decided to take this one, lest Simon screw it up for them with more word vomit. "It's just mud, Mom."

Just as Mom opened her mouth to comment, the doorbell rang. She closed her mouth and looked at each of them suspiciously. Bella could tell the moment she let the matter drop…they had lucked out. _May God shower a thousand blessings upon the head of the take-out guy for his impeccable timing,_ Bella thought.

Mom sighed and turned her attention back to Simon. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Simon looked up, surprised. Probably because he thought Mom was going to kick him out after his verbal diarrhea and obvious deception a moment ago.

"Um, sure. Thanks, Mrs. H." He mumbled.

Mom nodded before glancing at Bella and leaving the room. Uh oh. The matter wasn't dropped…just postponed.

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! I'm working on getting the next one out soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Cuddy made her way into the kitchen about ten minutes later to find House standing at the counter unpacking the Chinese food from the bag. The older kids were setting the table, while Mik stood at her father's feet yanking on his pant leg and begging for an egg roll. The image reminded her a little bit of a dog begging for table scraps. The thought triggered her inner eye roll – as if they needed a dog.

Her thoughts quickly returned to what had perplexed her before she entered the kitchen. Cuddy had been left confused by Bella and Simon's behavior and had needed a few moments to think. After leaving Bella's bedroom and making sure that House had taken care of paying the delivery guy, Cuddy made her way into the bedroom to get out of her work clothes, which had suddenly felt constricting after her conversation with the kids. She was worried; no, not worried, confused, flummoxed, and definitely suspicious. What had all of that been about?

Maybe House had been right, and Bella and Simon were more than friends. She had never gotten that vibe from either of them before; Cuddy had always viewed their relationship as more of a sibling type. She always thought it was sweet, especially with how tragically Bella had lost her real brother. It was like she was getting a second chance to have a brother in her life, but now…Cuddy wasn't so sure. It wasn't that she didn't like the idea of the two of them being an item, but…they were just thirteen. They weren't ready for the complicated feelings that going from best friends to more than friends would bring, especially with raging teenage hormones involved. And maybe that was all it was, teenage hormones. They were at that age…. Maybe she just needed to talk to House about this since he seemed to think they were already a thing.

She stepped in close to House as he set out the carton of rice from the bag. She looked into the dining room to make sure Bella and Simon were still occupied and then gently placed a hand on House's back to get his attention. When he shifted his eyes to hers, she whispered. "We need to talk."

He looked down at her, baffled, but with a smirk on his face. "That's what people say when they want to break bad news. You're not giving me more clinic hours because of that idiot this morning, are you? It wasn't my fault he-".

Cuddy shook her head and interrupted. "No, I'll deal with you tomorrow about that." She rolled her eyes, continuing, "what's up those two?" She gestured with her thumb into the dining room.

House frowned and shifted his eyes to the two oldest kids whispering with one another; conspiring about something. He then looked at Cuddy as she waited expectantly for his response. "I don't know, they've been weird all afternoon. I'm pretty sure they've been sucking face behind that bedroom door. She's not allowed to keep it closed anymore."

She nodded, biting her lip and feeling a sense of disquiet about the situation. "Something's going on. I think maybe they-."

"Daddeee!" Mik interrupted, or rather, completely drowned out what she was saying with the volume of her protests.

Cuddy sighed and looked down at their littlest daughter, jumping up and down, yanking on House's pants leg as her petition for an egg roll became more adamant. "Later, when the kids are asleep." Cuddy mumbled close to his ear so he could hear over Mikaela's screeching.

"Daddeeee, edd loll!" Mik demanded loudly.

"I'm getting it, peewee." He mumbled, his attention still on Cuddy. He nodded and then looked down at Mik as she was quickly becoming angry about being ignored. Cuddy knelt down to pick her up with a peck to her cheek.

"Ok, little egg roll monster, let's eat." Cuddy said, taking her into the dining room to get her strapped into her high chair. When they reached the dining room, she was surprised that Bella and Simon were no longer in there. The table was set, but they were nowhere to be found. Cuddy sighed, not particularly wanting to think about why they weren't in the room.

House followed her in a moment later with the food and they shared a look.

"Bella, Simon, come eat!" She called, slightly exasperated, as she helped set the food down on the table. Cuddy grabbed Mik's Sesame Street plate that she loved to eat from and placed half an egg roll and some rice onto Oscar the Grouch's face. Mik loved Chinese food, specifically the egg rolls, or rather the crispy egg roll pastry. Cuddy took a spoon and scooped out the cabbage mixture because if she didn't, when Mik was finished, it would be a mess. One night a few weeks ago, she had grabbed the mixture of veggies with her hand and threw it on the floor, making her dislike of it known. Of course, House thought it was hilarious so Cuddy had made him clean it up. Now they know better.

Finally, Bella and Simon walked into the room, looking sheepish and there was no doubt in Cuddy's mind that they were hiding something. They sat down at the table and began serving themselves.

"Thanks for letting me stay." Simon said, scooping a copious amount of rice onto his plate. "Pretty sure I'd be eating cereal for dinner if I was at my house." He mumbled.

"You're always welcome, Si." Bella told him, taking her first bite of Mongolian beef, her favorite.

Cuddy watched the two interact but other than the glaring fact that they were hiding something, they weren't acting any differently toward each other. At least, not in the way she'd expect if they were more than friends.

Cuddy smiled in agreement with Bella's statement. "She's right, Simon, anytime." She told him warmly.

"Unless you take the last egg roll like you did last time, then I might have to banish you." House interjected.

"You wouldn't have wanted it anyway, Sir, it gave me the runs after." He replied cheekily, no doubt to get a reaction out of everyone.

"Ugh, god, Simon. You are so disgusting." Bella exclaimed, her fork clattering onto her plate as she stretched her arm out, shoving his shoulder.

House chuckled, holding his own egg roll up in acknowledgment. "In that case, I salute you, my man."

"House…." Cuddy complained, rolling her eyes.

"You guys are sick, can we not talk about bodily excretions while I'm eating, please!" Bella added.

"I second that." Cuddy interjected with a glower in the guys' direction.

Simon laughed, ducking his head as he shoveled food in his mouth.

Cuddy's attention soon shifted from studying Bella and Simon's behavior to Mik as she happily ate her dinner, babbling in her baby-speak as she shoveled food into her mouth with her fist. She'd have time to think and talk to House about the older kids later. Right now she wanted to enjoy a nice meal with her family.

"So, how was school today, you two?" She asked, cutting up a few lo mein noodles into non-chokable pieces for Mik.

"Good." Bella answered. "But Si got detention again." She tattled, clearly none too happy with him. Simon shot her a glare and grumbled her name under his breath.

Cuddy sighed, glancing at Simon. He caught her eyes before lowering them in shame. She wasn't his mother so she couldn't punish him, but he made her want to sometimes. She knew he had to be skirting the line of suspension based on the number of times he'd had detention this semester alone. She cared about him and wanted him to do well in school. Cuddy knew on some level about what things were like for him at home, but she wasn't positive of the details. He never had visible bruises, so she didn't think he was physically abused, but he was definitely verbally abused. She'd heard his mother yelling and swearing at him on certain occasions when she picked him up for school or other activities he was involved in with Bella. She didn't like Bella spending time at his house, to be honest, even though Bella had assured her that his mom was always nice to her. So Cuddy never minded having Simon at their house; the least amount of time he spent in that environment, the better, in her opinion. His own mother didn't seem to give too much of a damn about what her son did with his life so Cuddy wanted him to know he had a family with them when he needed it. House stayed uncharacteristically quiet, and Cuddy knew he felt the same even though he wouldn't say it. House knew what it was like to live in an abusive home.

She watched Simon as he quietly ate his dinner, his body tense and his eyes lowered to his plate. She knew he was expecting a verbal thrashing for his misbehavior at school.

"Will you be ok at home? Can I do anything to make it easier; talk to your mom for you?" Cuddy asked softly.

He lifted surprised eyes to her. After a moment, he shook his head, his easy-going smile returning. "Naw, it's ok, I'll be fine." He assured, but she could tell he was still chagrined over it.

Bella kept quiet, her eyes on her food as she shifted it around on her plate. Cuddy knew Bella struggled with helping Simon with his home life. They'd had conversations about how it was affecting her as his friend and what she could do to help him. Maybe that was why their relationship status had changed…if indeed it had. Cuddy still wasn't sure about that.

Cuddy nodded. "Just let me know if you need anything." She told him softly.

Simon moved his eyes from hers as he nodded gratefully.

"Oof, oof, Mommy." Mik decided to throw her two cents out at that exact moment with a smile, her mouth full of egg roll pastry and her hands messy with the rice she'd been smearing around her plate.

Cuddy turned her eyes away from her scrutiny of Simon to glance at Mik, her brow furrowing, still puzzled at her behavior. Why was Mik suddenly obsessed with dogs? She wondered. Putting a smile on, Cuddy responded.

"That's right, baby, doggies say woof woof." She placated.

Her eyes surveyed the table, gathering expressions from everyone else to get an answer to the question she kept asking herself. House seemed just as perplexed as Cuddy did, Bella had a frown on her face as well, but she couldn't tell if it was confusion or something else. Simon looked nervous, but then, he always looked nervous.

"Oooof, ooof, oof." Mik continued, stuffing a fist full of rice in her mouth, some of it spraying out as she barked.

"Did Mikaela play with a dog today, Bella?" Cuddy asked.

Bella looked at her and shrugged. "Not since I've been home." She answered.

"Maybe Mom took her to the park or went for a walk around the neighborhood. Mrs. Kensington might've let her pet the dogs at her house." Cuddy suggested, glancing at House, who was studying them as they quietly ate their dinner. Simon glanced up briefly before quickly shifting his eyes away and back down to the food on his plate. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and shoveled a piece of orange chicken in his mouth.

House narrowed his eyes into a glare directed straight at Simon and it was…well, glaring.

They needed to get this sorted out, and fast.

"What are you going to do with Zorro while you're at school tomorrow?" Simon asked in a whisper as he gathered his backpack and skateboard, ready to go home after they'd finished dinner. He had to get home to do his homework, leaving Bella on her own in making sure her parents and Mik didn't find out about Zorro. She had to be honest with herself; she was a little worried and thought, not for the first time today, that it was a seriously bad idea. She should just tell her parents and deal with the consequences. But she wouldn't.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know, Grandma can look after him?"

Simon nodded, but his expression was strained. "Did you see how your parents were watching us at dinner? Your dad almost killed me with his eyes. If he was telekinetic, he would've exploded my brain! They know what we're up to, B. They know." He whispered, his voice cracking with urgency.

She gave him a look that she hoped translated how batshit crazy she thought he was but then she sighed and rolled her eyes. "They know nothing, trust me. Just keep your cool and do not say a word, ok?" She replied reassuringly. She placed a calming hand on his shoulder and eyed him until he snapped out of it and nodded in understanding and acceptance.

"Ok. Well, I better get going. My mom will be pissed if I stay too late." He told her, making his way to the door. "I'm sure she's heard about my detention and is just dying to let me know how much she disapproves of my attitude. So, you know, something to look forward to…" He snarked.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should try staying out of trouble for once…you know, shock your mom with some _good_ behavior."

"Like she cares; she'd still manage to get pissed at me for some reason, I might as well give her one, right?"

Bella shook her head. "Just don't get kicked out of school, Si. Never mind your mom, you wouldn't survive the hell I'd rain down upon you, if you did."

He cringed, knowing she was right, but replied, "I make no promises," throwing her a smile. "See you tomorrow, B. Good luck with Zorro and your parents."

"Good luck with your mom, call if you need something."

Simon nodded and quickly made his way out of her bedroom, closing the door behind him. Bella heard him say good night to her mom, before hearing the front door close. She made her way to her tent where Zorro was currently sleeping, curled up in one of her soft, plushy blankets. He was so cute when he slept. He had done a lot of that today and she hoped he wasn't worse off than he looked on the outside. She had been concerned that maybe he had internal injuries, but he wasn't crying out or complaining in pain. But maybe his silence was a bad thing too. She leaned forward to make sure he was breathing, releasing a sigh when she saw that he was. Smiling at him, she silently backed away, not wanting to wake him. She would keep an eye on him and if he was that quiet tomorrow, she'd have no choice but to tell her parents so they could have him checked out by a vet.

Bella made her way over to her desk where her homework sat waiting for her. She glanced over at her photo of Mattie she kept on the corner, watching over her. Her lip lifted in a smirk. If he were here, he'd have told on her by now, just to piss her off.

Several minutes passed as she stared at the geometry in front of her, but she sighed, unable to concentrate. Her mind kept wandering to Zorro and what she was going to do with him. Bella glanced at Mattie's photo again, his smile taunting her. "Shut up." She mumbled after a moment. What would Mattie do if he were the one hiding Zorro? It still bothered her that Zorro was thrown away like garbage and she knew if Mattie were in her shoes he'd be doing the same thing she was doing. That realization calmed her for some reason. As stupid as his ideas had been at times, Mattie always did them for the right reasons. She knew what she should do, but she was scared of the outcome. Even if she told her parents about Zorro, there was still a chance they'd tell her no, no matter what her intentions were. They wouldn't be upset that she had rescued Zorro, just that she had hidden him from them.

She glanced at Mattie's photo again. "What do I do, Matthew?" She whispered. Knowing she wouldn't get a response, she shifted her eyes away and went back to her homework. She'd have to think about it later.

House stepped out of the bathroom after his shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He quickly pulled on his clothes so he could take over from Cuddy in getting Mik ready for bed. As they always did when he was home and not at the hospital, they would tag team it; Cuddy giving Mik her bath, since he couldn't lean over the tub for very long with his leg the way it was, and he would take over from there, getting Mik into her clothes and calmed down for bedtime. Even Bella helped with Mik's bedtime routine. When Mik was around a year old, Bella had asked them if she could start reading books to Mik because her biological parents had read to her when she was a baby, or in her mom's case, told bedtime stories in sign language until she could no longer keep her eyes open. How could they say no to that?

His cane in hand, he made his way to the girls' bathroom down the hall where he could hear Mik splashing around the tub, playing with her tub toys as she and Cuddy sang some kiddie song together. House leaned against the door jam, spying Cuddy leaning over the tub, her ass in the air, washing Mik's hair. He smirked. Before he could make an inappropriate comment, Mik looked his way and a wide smile came to her face.

"Daddy." She greeted him, dropping her toys and moving to get up. Cuddy held her firmly, stopping her movement. "Nuh uh, Mikaela, we're not done."

"Daddy." She whined, reaching for him.

"Sorry, munchkin, not my turn yet."

Mik pouted but didn't move. Cuddy rinsed her hair out and gestured toward the towels. "House, could you hand me a towel?"

House moved into the bathroom and tossed her the towel, smirking when it came unraveled and hit her in the face. Cuddy glared, but didn't comment. "Stand up, baby." She told Mik, holding her steady with one hand under her arm, the other clutching the towel. Mik stood up, smiling and no doubt ready to get out of the tub. Cuddy lifted her out with the towel wrapped around her body; the front of Cuddy's shirt was decorated with water droplets from all of Mik's splashing. Mik reached toward House once Cuddy had her dried off.

"C'mere, stinky." House said, taking her in his arms.

"No, Daddy. No tinky." She told him, her hands going to his face as she looked into his eyes. Her little palms ran over his scruffy cheeks, almost like she was petting him.

Cuddy chuckled behind him, watching the exchange. House looked at Mik, her face completely serious. He held in his smile. "Hm, I don't believe you, let me check." He told her, taking her left hand from his cheek and lifting her arm up, pretending to sniff. He pulled a face. "Yep, still stinky. I don't think Mommy got you clean enough." He eyed her, noticing her lip quirk. She knew what was coming; this wasn't the first time they'd done this.

"No, tinky, Daddy." She informed him again on the beginnings of a giggle, while she tried to lower her arm, but House kept a tight grip without hurting her.

He kept a straight face. He lowered his head, ready to sniff again and Mik couldn't contain her giggles any longer. House hadn't even done anything yet and she was already laughing. His smile escaped as he lifted her arm higher and pretended to nibble her armpit. Her giggles became squeals of laughter as she tried lowering her arm again, but House held it firmly and blew raspberries. She squealed and laughed and squirmed in his arms and he kept it up until she was breathless with laughter. House pulled back as she continued laughing, her head falling to his shoulder. He chuckled as he held her close and glanced at Cuddy, her smile blooming. She stepped over and placed a kiss on Mik's head as she came down from her laughter.

"Daddy's silly, isn't he?" She mumbled to Mik.

Mik nodded her head, still on House's shoulder. "Daddy tilly, Mommy." She affirmed.

Cuddy smiled at him, placing a quick kiss on his arm, before turning around to survey the mess in the bathtub.

"Why is this bathroom such a mess? I don't remember it being like this, this morning."

"You just gave her a bath, of course it's a mess, Cuddy." He told her, rolling his eyes.

Cuddy shook her head. "It was worse than this before, Mik didn't do this."

"Well, seeing as how our other kid is beyond rubber duckies and foam letters, who else would've done it?"

"House, there was dried mud caked onto the drain, I had to clean the tub before I could fill it with water for Mik's bath."

"Maybe Granny did it…joined a female geriatric mud wrestling team." He snarked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes, and began putting the toys away. "Shut up, House."

He smirked and turned around, ready to leave the bathroom with Mik and leave Cuddy to her cleaning. As he reached the door, he heard Cuddy speak.

"House, when you get her settled, we have to talk."

He stopped and turned around, saw Cuddy's eyes on him. He remembered their interrupted conversation before dinner and nodded before making his way out the door. As he walked passed Bella's bedroom, her door closed, his thoughts came back to how weird she had been acting since he got home and resolved again to figure out what was going on with her.

House made his way into Mik's bedroom, carrying her on his hip as she babbled. Apparently she was talking to him, since she required an answer to whatever she'd said, her eyes looking at him expectantly. He hadn't understood a word of it, but he nodded and it seemed to be the correct answer because she continued talking as he reached the changing table. She was getting a bit too big for it but he set her down and stepped over to her dresser to get her pajamas.

She moved to sit up but he stopped her. "Don't move, peanut, Daddy's just getting your clothes."

"Down, Daddy." She told him.

"Nope, gotta put your jammies on first. Mommy doesn't think it's as funny as we do when you run around naked."

"Dammies." She repeated, lying back down.

House chuckled at her mispronunciation and inadvertent swear as he grabbed her favorite purple and pink-striped pajamas with the elephant on the front out of the top dresser drawer. He moved back over and expertly put her diaper on before dressing her.

"All done." He told her.

"Done, Daddy. Down." She said, reaching her arms out for him as she stood up on the changing table.

He picked her up, cuddling her close to him and walking over to Mik's bed. He playfully dropped her on the mattress, bringing laughter from her.

"'Gain, Daddy, 'gain."

He obliged, picking her up and dropping her onto the mattress again. When she reached up for him to do it again, he shook his head. "No more, stinky. Bedtime."

"No tinky, Daddy." She informed him, holding her arm up to show him.

He smirked, "want me to check again?" He moved to sit beside her on the bed, leaning his cane on the nightstand.

She giggled and shook her head no, while still holding her arm up expectantly. That drew a laugh out of him and he quickly leaned over and blew raspberries on her armpit, just as he'd done earlier. Her reaction was the same as before, laughter filling the room as she tried to get away from him. House didn't understand the appeal of being tickled but his kid loved it.

He had to admit, though, he did love hearing her laughter. When Cuddy told him that she was pregnant with Mik, he had already known for a couple of weeks before she did. He decided to let Cuddy figure it out, so he didn't bring it up. While he waited, it gave _him_ a chance to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be a dad to a newborn baby and difficult times were ahead. He needed to acclimate his mind to the idea of change. Change was a hard thing for him to deal with, but this was his kid coming into the world and after a lot contemplating he found himself being very okay with that change. During the pregnancy, though, there were times he wished he could take it all back. Cuddy was…a challenge, to put it mildly. There were nights he had to vacate the premises and give them both some space. He'd be back the next day with whatever weird craving she'd been having at the time, flowers, and an apology. Bella had been his and Cuddy's lifeline during those months. She was a buffer of sorts, as much as he had hated putting his oldest kid in that position. But she'd kept them moving forward and they wouldn't have survived without her. Now Mik was there and she was without a doubt a mix of his and Cuddy's personalities. He does not look forward to her teenage years. Especially now that he's just getting a taste of Bella's teenage years.

House leaned back and released Mik's arm, smirking at her. Her laughter continued even when he'd stopped. Just then, Cuddy came in to say her goodnights. She made her way over to the other side of Mik's bed and sat down, avoiding the guardrail.

Mik turned to her, holding her arms out. "Daddy tilly, Mommy."

Cuddy chuckled, reaching for Mik and drawing her into her arms. "I think you're both silly. You're supposed to be settling down for bedtime, young lady." She said, placing a kiss onto Mik's forehead. Mik turned her head toward House and pointed.

"Daddy." She blamed.

House narrowed his eyes playfully at Mik, as she pointedly blamed him for it.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Oh, is that right? Well, he usually is the one to blame for trouble, isn't he?"

"Hey now, she started it." House defended, reaching over to tickle her again.

She squealed and tightened her grip around Cuddy's neck, angling to get away.

"Mhm. Alright, little miss, it's your bedtime."

"No seep, Mommy."

"Yes, time for sleep. Come on, get in, and tell Daddy good night." She stated, moving to pull the blankets down for Mik to crawl under.

When she was settled, she pointed to her books on the shelf beside the bed. "'Tory, Mommy." She requested, adding. "Lella, 'tory."

Cuddy kissed her cheek and nodded. "Bella will come tell you a story in a minute, give mommy a kiss."

Mik reached her arms out, encircling her mother's neck in a hug and kissed her on the lips. "'Tiss." She stated.

Cuddy smiled and kissed her once more. "Goodnight, baby girl."

House watched as Cuddy stood and left the room. He said his goodnights, turned on the bedside lamp for Bella to read to Mik before making his way to the door, flipping off the overhead light. As he walked out, he saw Bella come out of her room, shutting the door behind her. That was odd, why would she do that? House didn't mention it, though, as Bella casually walked toward him.

"Hey, dad. Mik ready for story time?"

He gave her a short nod and a smirk. "She's all yours, peanut."

Bella nodded and made her way into her sister's bedroom. He could hear Mik's excited babbling and Bella's greeting. "Hey, Mickey Mouse, what story is it going be tonight?"

House tuned them out as he turned his attention back to Bella's closed bedroom door. He looked behind him once more to make sure he wasn't being watched and then turned his head back, knowing what had to be done. House, as quietly as he could with his cane hitting the hardwood floor, limped to Bella's bedroom door. He stood listening for a moment before reaching out, turning the knob.

 **A/N: Everyone, thank you so much for reading! I'll get the next one out soon. I realize I'm behind on responding to reviews which is totally unfair and I'm a loser, so I'll get to those soon too! To all of those who review as guests and I can't respond, just know that I totally appreciate every one of you for leaving your reviews! You're awesome! Equally awesome, are those who read/story alert/follow/favorite!**

 **To Robin, who left me a guest review the other day, I'd love to respond to your review on PM just like the others but I can't so I'll single you out here…Thank you! When your review appeared in my email, I was having a rather crappy morning and I read it and it just lifted my spirits. So thank you, I truly appreciate your words of encouragement and your thoughts on my stories and Bella as a character.**

 **Stay tuned, peeps!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"House."

He hadn't even had time to get the door opened when he heard Cuddy calling his name from the living room. Damn. She chose now to talk about the kids? He was almost in. House sighed and silently released the doorknob, making sure it was still closed just like Bella had left it and made his way into the living room.

"You bellowed?" He stated with mild irritation.

Cuddy was seated on the couch, her work stacked on the coffee table. Due to the girls being sick a couple of weeks back, she'd been having some trouble getting caught up with some of her paperwork and had to bring it home with her. House moved into the room, sitting down next to her.

"Is Bella reading to Mik?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yep." He replied back with an exaggerated whisper, still slightly irritated that he couldn't go snoop in Bella's room. "Why are we whispering?"

Cuddy turned her body toward him on the couch, her hand moving to rest on his forearm. "I'm just a little concerned about how Bella and Simon have been acting. What do you think is going on?"

House furrowed his brow. "I told you, they're sucking face." His response came out as something resembling a growl, but he didn't care.

Cuddy frowned, watching him a moment and then released a troubled sigh. "I think you might be right, House. I think they're…together." She told him, keeping her voice at a whisper. "When I went to Bella's room earlier, they were acting like…I don't know, jumpy, like they were trying to hide it. Simon almost had a coronary when I walked in, kept blabbering on about his toe being broken." She explained, scowling at the memory.

House narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

Cuddy shrugged, her scowl deepening. "I don't know, but I think he was just trying to distract me from figuring out what they were doing in there with the door closed."

"And what the hell were they doing?" House asked a little too loudly.

"Shhh, keep it down. I don't want Bella to hear."

House rolled his eyes. "Well, swapping spit better be all they're doing, because if he's…doing other things he's going to lose a hand…and more."

"I doubt seriously that they're doing anything other than kissing."

House's scowl deepened. "Isn't that enough? I'm telling you, she's not allowed to close that door ever again."

Cuddy's response was a look all too familiar to him. It was the one she gave him when she thought he was being absurd. "House, I don't think it's come to that yet. And besides that, Simon wouldn't take advantage of Bella, he's not like that."

House's eyes nearly rolled back into his head. "Cuddy, let me explain to you a little bit about how boys think. They don't use their brains, they use their-." Gesturing to his crotch, Cuddy interrupted.

"I don't need a lesson on how boys think, House. I'm aware. But I don't get the feeling that's what is going on. It's something else."

"Well, we'd know if you hadn't interrupted. Since that door seems to be glued to the doorframe in a permanently closed position lately, I was just about to go snooping."

"You are not snooping in her bedroom. And what good would that do you now, anyway, Simon's gone."

House shook his head. "Huh-uh, there's more to it, she's hiding something in there because when she went in to read to Mik, she shut her door. Why would she do that, she never does that. There is something in there she doesn't want us to see, Cuddy."

Cuddy frowned, "like what, House?"

"I was just about to go clear that up. Shall we?" He snarked, making movement to rise from the couch before Cuddy stopped him with a hand on his arm.

She sighed, shaking her head. "We can't snoop in her bedroom. That would just…" She paused, thinking about her words carefully. "House, how we respond to this situation now when she's thirteen, sets the tone for how we respond later in her teen years. We have to trust her, I think we should just ask."

House rolled his eyes. "What the hell fun is that? I like my method of parenting better, where I have all of the information before I slowly and torturously get it out of her. Then I know what lies she's telling."

"This isn't an interrogation, Detective House." She glowered and continued. "If she and Simon are together, we have to be delicate about it, not waterboard the information out of her."

"Whatever, my way is more fun." House scoffed.

Cuddy sighed. "Since neither of us know what she's hiding, I'll talk to her. If she and Simon are together, then I will handle it. I don't want you pissing her off, or scarring her psyche with your interrogation tactics."

"I have no idea what you mean." He responded innocently. House moved to stand before he stopped and settled back in again. "By the way, I liked the Detective House thing, you want to try that out sometime? I could get handcuffs and arrest you…read you your rights." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Interrogate you." He rumbled, looking her up and down before meeting her eyes again.

Cuddy stared at him, her face blank for a moment not giving anything away. "I have work to do." She replied finally, her voice a little raspy, and House caught the slight lift of her lip as he smiled and stood up, making his way out of the room. Oh, she was interested.

* * *

Once Mik was asleep, Bella slipped out of her bedroom, flipping on the nightlight and leaving the door cracked. Sometimes she'd wake up crying and slightly disoriented, so over time they figured out that if she could see where she was she'd calm herself down.

Bella quietly went into her own bedroom, closing the door behind her. She went over to the tent she still had set up since she had first come to live there a few years ago, to check on Zorro. She was relieved to see that he was snuggled up where she'd left him. Her paranoia that someone (her dad, the snoop) would come into her room and find him was thankfully in vain. Bella smiled down at Zorro and moved to her dresser to change into her pajamas. As she finished dressing her phone buzzed with a text message:

 _Is it true? Did you get a dog?_

Bella rolled her eyes. The message was from Maya, Simon must have called her as soon as he got home. He was such a gossip.

 _Not really…Me and Simon found him in the storm drain. It's a secret from my parents, don't tell anyone else!_ Bella replied.

 _U R screwed! They'll find out, u know?_

 _Thx 4 ur support, Maya! You better b school tomorrow! Hope ur feeling better._

Bella threw her phone down on the bed, pouting because she knew it was true. She was starting to feel even worse about this stupid idea of hers but she'd have to risk it. She had to keep this dog.

* * *

The next morning, Bella was exhausted. She'd taken Zorro outside to use the bathroom about a million times (really, just three). When he started crying she had to rush to climb out her window so he wouldn't wake her parents. She never realized how creepy it was in her neighborhood at three in the morning. This was sort of like having a newborn in the house all over again, except this time she's the mommy and she has to take care of the baby's needs. With Mik it was easier for Bella because she only woke up when the baby cried during the night and was never called on to change her diaper or feed her on those occasions. Now Bella knew how her mother felt back then. Sort of.

Bella rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up in her bed. Zorro was sleeping next to her under the blanket. She lifted it slightly so that he could breathe; she didn't want to come back to a suffocated puppy. Bella released a jaw-cracking yawn as she quietly and in zombie-like fashion, shuffled to the bathroom, closing the bedroom door as she went. It was early and it felt even earlier due to her lack of sleep. She could hear her mom in the kitchen with Mik, making her breakfast. Bella quickly showered and snuck back into her bedroom. As she dropped her robe, pulled on her undergarments and started to take the towel off her head, she noticed the little dog-shaped lump that was on her bed before was no longer there. She stilled her movements and dropped the towel on the floor, suddenly unconcerned with her hair and the fact that it would become a lovely nest for birds soon.

"Shit." She bit out as she checked underneath the covers to see if Zorro had crawled further and got himself stuck.

"Double shit." She breathed out in simultaneous relief and panic when she didn't find him.

Bella bounced off her bed and knelt down, lifting the bed skirt. The trundle wouldn't allow for much room under the bed so she knew he wasn't there but checked anyway. He wasn't like Splat who could squeeze himself into the tiniest of spaces. She stood up and began a thorough and panicked search for her little puppy. Where could he have gone? She was only in the bathroom for 20 minutes. He wasn't in her bedroom now. How could he have gotten out, the door had been closed; or had it? Sometimes her door liked to spring open when it wasn't properly latched. Bella tried to remember if the door had been ajar when she came back into the room but she couldn't. Her brain was too foggy to remember.

"Zorro." She called to him in a whisper. "Zorro, come here, puppy."

At that moment Bella happened to look up, she did a double-take when spotted Splat curled up on top of one of her high bookshelves. He sat up there as if he were a king on his throne, judging her from above. She had no clue how long he had been up there. "There you are." She mumbled to herself. Well, at least she found one of her animals. But now she had to get back to locating her other one. "Do you know where Zorro is?" She asked Splat, who remained stoic and judgmental.

Bella rolled her eyes and looked around one more time before determining that Zorro wasn't in there. Where could he be? She quickly pulled on her clothes and went searching for him. As she walked out of her bedroom, she glanced up and down the hallway, hoping to spot him. Nothing. She made her way toward Mik's room and peeked inside. Since her little sister was in the kitchen with mom, she snuck in there and looked around, quietly calling to Zorro as she checked underneath furniture and inside the closet. He wasn't in there.

Back out in the hallway, she tiptoed to her parent's bedroom. The door was closed so she knew her dad was in there and probably still asleep. The thought occurred that maybe he had snuck into her room, saw Zorro and took him out of there, but there's no way that would happen. He would have heard Bella in the shower making it unnecessary to come wake her. If her dad didn't have to get out of bed, he wouldn't; he'd milk every moment. His patient had been cured the day before so he probably wouldn't go into work until later, presenting her with another obstacle but she couldn't think about it right now. And there was no way she was going to open her parent's bedroom door to look for Zorro. He couldn't have gotten in there anyway, since the door was closed. Bella huffed in frustration; he had to be somewhere.

She made her way back to her room and peeked inside just in case she'd missed the sneaky little critter. Nope, still not in there. That left the front of the house: the living room, dining room and kitchen. Her mom and Mik were in the kitchen. Crap. But she would've heard Mik's squeals and mom's ire if he were in there. Bella quietly made her way to the living room, not wanting to draw any attention to herself and have to explain what she was doing. In the living room, she didn't spot him, and she looked everywhere. She wanted to scream; this was so bad. If she got caught she was in deep…yucky. That was what Mik called her poop and that was exactly what Bella would be in.

Standing in the middle of the living room, helpless, frustrated and panicked, Bella passed her hands over her face and combed her fingers through her hair. She really wanted to scream. How could she have let this happen? She had severely underestimated how hard it would be to keep track of Zorro…to hide him. This was turning out to be an epically bad idea.

She decided to return to her bedroom, to take _another_ look. He could be hiding anywhere. As Bella walked into her room she saw him, sitting there on the floor with his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth, casual as could be; like, she hadn't been tearing her hair wondering where he'd been. Bella gasped and rushed over to him, picking him up.

"Zorro, where the hell have been? You can't hide from me like that, you little furball. Are you trying to give me heart attack?" She mumbled into his fur as she squeezed him tightly to her chest.

He whined in protest, unpleased with being crushed in her arms. Bella held him up to her face, kissing his little nose. "You punk."

She cuddled him to her chest again and kissed the top of his head. "Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry." She murmured. "You go looking for food?"

Bella sighed with relief again. That was a close call; he could've wandered into the kitchen and been discovered, securing her eminent prison sentence handed down by the judge (her mother) with no leniency. She had to get a handle on this, but how? What was she going to do? This brought her thoughts back to her dad. He wouldn't be leaving the house before Bella today. Grandma was due to show up at any moment and she could help, but this wasn't going to work forever.

* * *

House was lying in bed, mostly dozing because ever since Cuddy got up he hadn't been able to get back to sleep. His sleep cycle had changed drastically with the welcome of a certain bundle a little over a year and a half ago. His littlest was a joy in his heart and he wouldn't trade her for anything but he kind of missed his old sleeping habits. He could hear his girls in the kitchen as Cuddy prepared Mik's breakfast and his oldest was in the shower. Good, Bella was up and he wouldn't have to move to go drag her out of bed.

His back was to the door so when it suddenly popped open, he thought it was Cuddy coming in with Mik. It was weird though, because he didn't hear her coming down the hall and Mik was usually a Chatty Kathy in the morning (or always) so when it was apparent that they weren't in the room, he rolled over. Noticing the door ajar but no one there, he sat up. And that was when he saw it; a dog, or rather, a puppy.

"What the f-?" He mumbled as his eyes tracked the little animal across the room, his nose to the floor.

House threw the covers from his body and grabbed his cane leaning against the wall. When the dog heard movement it raised its head and met House's eyes. They had a staring contest for about 3 seconds before the dog apparently got bored and got back to sniffing a trail across the bedroom floor. House was dumbstruck, what the hell was a puppy doing in the hou-…and that was when it hit him. His lip quirked; "you've got to be kidding me." He mumbled.

Bella.

There was no other explanation as to why there was a puppy sniffing his way across his bedroom at 6:30 in the morning. It would also explain her and Simon's behavior yesterday and justify his suspicions that she'd been hiding something. There was a rush of relief in him at the realization that their odd behavior was because of this mutt sniffing around his bedroom and not that they were…doing other things. Now he wouldn't have to kill and dismember Simon's body for feeling up his daughter. But he was still going to have himself a little fun with this situation.

Before he knew it the dog had squatted and was relieving himself on the floor. House sprung into action. "Don't you do it, you little shit." He ground out. House tossed his cane onto the bed and moved to scoop him up, causing the puppy to stop peeing midstream. He limped into the bathroom and set him down inside the shower. He thought about putting him in the bathtub but if Cuddy found out she'd…well, there would be some unpleasantness.

The puppy looked up at him, questions in his eyes.

House rolled his eyes. "Well what are you waiting for, mutt, go…pee away." The dog just stared, unsure what was expected of him. House huffed and grabbed a handful of toilet tissue to clean up the small puddle the puppy had left on the floor outside the bathroom. But before he did, House closed the shower door so he wouldn't lose track of him. When he returned he watched the furry creature as he sniffed the shower floor and finally relieved himself. He'd need to sanitize that shower before he got in it.

Before releasing the dog, House quickly limped to the bedroom door and shut it. He didn't want to risk Cuddy walking in on him with a dog in the bathroom. He didn't want to tell her yet, or at all; this wasn't his confession to make.

House opened the shower door and scooped the puppy into his arms. As dogs went, this one seemed to be all right. He was pretty quiet for a dog. In his experience, dogs were always annoying; whining, barking, pooping on the floor, chewing everything in sight. Bella had asked for one on a few occasions and the answer was always a resounding no. It looked like she decided to take matters into her own hands and get one anyway.

House shook his head, what the hell was she thinking? Did she really expect to keep this a secret? And Simon was helping her too. A smile rose on House's face as he thought about how much fun he could have with this situation.

He quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. Cuddy was still distracted with the munchkin in the kitchen. Bella's shower had stopped running and the bathroom door was opened; the bedroom door was closed, so she was getting ready. Any minute now he expected her to come rushing out of there after realizing the furball was no longer there. House shut his bedroom door, waiting for it.

Sure enough, he heard it all happening. Her door flew open and he could hear her sneaking about, the footsteps on the hardwood flooring giving away her exact location. She went into Mik's room and came back out a moment later. Now she was coming toward his and Cuddy's room; he looked down and saw her shadow under the door. No way would she risk coming inside so he stood as still as possible. Surprisingly, the dog stayed quiet as well. House's lip quirked when she did exactly what he knew she'd do; she turned around and walked away. Now she'd go to the front of the house. He stealthily opened the door and made his way down the hall when he'd determined she was busy looking elsewhere. House sneaked into her room and set the dog down where she'd see him as soon as she walked in, then he left just as quietly as he'd come, but whistling a tune in his head. House smiled, this was already fun.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! I have several work projects going on next week, so I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter out. Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in some time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Bella slung her bag over her shoulder and glanced down at Zorro one more time before she had to leave for school. She was worried about leaving him there in her bedroom all day. She had actually cleaned her room in a rush this morning so he couldn't mess anything up. She even grabbed some old newspapers from the recycling bin and spread them out on her bedroom floor for him to use in case Grandma couldn't take him outside to do his business. Now she had to worry about everyone else in the house entering her room and finding him, because her room looked like a giant litter box and it would become very clear, very quickly what was going on.

Mom had an early meeting so she'd left already and Bella had managed to tell her mother goodbye for the day without alerting her to anything, although she seemed to have something on her mind when she opened her mouth to say something but didn't, except, "have a good at school," and walked out the door. Bella suspected it was going to be something about what happened last night just before dinner. But again, she had dodged that bullet.

Zorro was actually behaving himself as if he knew how important it was to be quiet. Her dad hadn't left for work yet and she was afraid of what he'd do after she left for school. She knew he had caught on to her and Simon's behavior yesterday and now that she wasn't going to be here to convince him nothing was going on, she feared he'd start snooping.

Bella knelt down and placed a kiss on his head. "Bye Zorro, see you later. Be a good boy, ok?" She begged.

Bella stood up and left her bedroom with one more lingering glance behind her. She sighed deeply; this was such a bad idea. She knew it was, but she still couldn't bring herself to tell her parents; she wanted Zorro too badly.

Entering the kitchen, she found her father at the table eating cereal, Mik sitting in her highchair munching on some Cheerios and keeping him company with the stories she liked to tell. Really, it was a string of babbling noises that only Mik understood with an occasional intelligible word or two mixed into it. Dad looked up when Bella came in and she put on what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"Hey, Daddy." She greeted, moving over to place a kiss on his cheek and then one on Mik's. "Hey, Mickey Mouse."

"Lella." She said, holding out a Cheerio for her to eat. Bella allowed Mik to place it in her mouth and thanked her with a kiss to the top over head.

Dad eyed her for a moment and then said, "You were up early this morning. I didn't even have to come in and drag you from bed."

Bella shrugged somewhat nervously. "Yeah, well, I wanted to get an early start. Big day, you know?"

Her dad nodded understandingly. "Major test?"

"Uh, no. Just…school." She answered lamely. Already, this was not going well. She was a better liar than this, what was going on? Bella opened the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of orange juice, closed it and moved to the pantry to grab two packages of Pop Tarts. Bella stuffed one bottled orange juice and the second Pop Tart package into her shoulder bag. She only had a few minutes before Simon and Maya came by to walk to the bus together. Grandma hadn't arrived yet and she was getting more and more apprehensive by the second. She could feel herself starting to sweat. She closed the pantry and risked a glance at her dad. He was watching her with a somewhat calculated look on his face.

"When is Grandma getting here?" She asked, walking to the toaster as she prepared her breakfast and tried to ignore his scrutiny.

"Soon-ish. Why?" He asked, still studying her closely and shoveling a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Why was he watching her like that? Did he know something?

"Just wanted to see her before I left for school, that's all." There was an awkward pause, and then she asked bluntly, "don't you have to be at the hospital today?"

He shook his head non-chalantly. "Not till later…trying to get rid of me?"

Bella huffed. "No, why would I want to get rid of you?"

"Ooof, ooof, ooof." Mik responded, in between her baby babble. Bella's eyes snapped to Mik and then at her dad. Damn, it was like her sister was trying to get her caught. What the hell?

"Wonder what that's about, she's been doing that since yesterday." Dad said. "She doesn't do that unless she's seen a dog."

"Who knows?" Bella mumbled, shrugging; shifting her eyes away.

"It's too bad she can't tell us, I bet it'd be an interesting story. She does like to tell stories." He said and there was a hint of suspicion and something else in his voice. The 'something else' almost sounded like knowledge.

Bella risked another look at him, noting the smirk on his face. Dammit, did he know about Zorro? But how could he?

Just then, she heard the front door open and her Grandma call out to them. "Good morning."

 _Oh thank god_ , Bella thought. She scooped up her breakfast and rushed over to Dad and Mik, kissing them each on the cheek. "Bye, Dad. Bye, Mik!" Then she made her escape to go and greet her grandmother. Meeting her in the dining room, she set her stuff down on the table and threw her arms around her. "Grandma, I need your help." She whispered into her ear.

"With your p-u-p-p-y?" She guessed, with humor in her voice.

She leaned back and nodded. "Dad's still here and he doesn't know about Zorro yet."

Grandma frowned at her, hands on her hips. "Now, Bella, you told me it was temporary. I expected this to be resolved last night." She scolded. "I won't lie to them, sweetheart."

"But Grandma, just a little longer, please?" Bella begged. "I promise…I know you have Mik to look after and I don't want to add more trouble for you, but I really want to keep him and if I tell them, they'll say no." She whined.

"First of all, you two are not any trouble to look after, that's not the issue. Second of all, I will do this for one more day and then, if you don't tell them, I will. Understood?"

Bella nodded in understanding, she couldn't ask for more than that; it wasn't Grandma's problem to deal with, it was hers. "Thank you, Grandma." She said with a relieved sigh, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, darling. Have a good day at school." Grandma told her, brushing a kiss to her cheek.

"I snuck out and bought him some food yesterday. It's in my closet."

Grandma shook her head in disapproval. "Not ever again." She told her, firmly. "I don't want something happening to you."

Bella nodded. "Simon was with me, Grandma. But I promise, never again."

Grandma nodded and shooed her out the door. "Bye, darling."

Bella waved as she left the house and made her way down the steps to the sidewalk where her friends were waiting. She hoped everything went well today with Zorro.

"Hey, guys!" She greeted them. Bella reached into her bag and took the bottled orange juice and Pop Tart out, handing them to Simon.

Simon smiled gratefully but with an air chagrin as he took the breakfast she had brought for him. He never expected it of her, but if she didn't bring him breakfast he wouldn't eat until lunch. His breakfast choices were limited at his house. His mom would buy plain yogurt with fruit or oatmeal, two things that he hated the most, saying that yogurt smelled like sour vomit and oatmeal looked like it. He'd grab a handful of fruit or a banana on occasion but he mostly left without eating anything. Sometimes he was able talk his mom into buying cereal but it was usually the healthy Bran crap with zero taste to it. Bella didn't think his mom did it on purpose, she just wanted her household to eat healthy and she thought Simon was being rebellious and dramatic when he said he didn't like those things. She was probably half right, but Simon was Bella's friend and it was her job to side with him on things like this. He already got so much crap from his mom that Bella didn't see it as a big deal to share her breakfast with him. Even she would bring him something healthy to eat now and then and he'd feel so bad that she was sharing with him that he wouldn't refuse to eat it.

"Hey, Bella!" Maya greeted her. "So, how's the puppy? I can't wait to see him."

Bella grabbed her iPad out of her bag and handed it over. "I took a picture to show you."

Maya gasped and squealed. "How cute! Aw, I hope you can keep him! I can't believe you found him in the storm drain!"

"I named him Zorro, isn't that perfect?" Bella gushed as she scrolled to another picture she'd taken.

"Oh my god, it is! He's got a mask!" Maya responded. "I so hope you get to keep him, he can be our mascot." She said again.

Simon rolled his eyes at their dramatics but wisely kept silent, eating his breakfast.

"Me too. Grandma's going to watch him for me today, but I have to think of a way to tell my parents tonight, or she will." Bella informed her friends.

"Grandma would do that?" Simon asked, surprised.

"I promised her I'd tell them. I can't make her lie for me and she said she wouldn't. It's my problem to deal with not hers."

"What are you going to do if your parents won't let you keep him?" Maya asked.

Bella shrugged. She didn't want to think about that because it would break her heart. She couldn't imagine giving him away.

* * *

House made sure Mik was occupied with her Grandma before he made his way into Bella's room. His eyes scanned the space for the little mutt he knew was hidden away in there. The floor was blanketed with newspapers and he rolled his eyes, knowing the mutt would shred that paper out of boredom before he used it as a toilet. He closed the door behind him so the dog couldn't escape and he stepped further into the room. His cane slipped on a sheet of newspaper and he stopped moving before he injured himself. House used his cane to move the newspaper aside, making a path. The sound of him in the room brought the dog out of hiding. He peaked his head out from the blanket he was sleeping on in Bella's tent. The dog uncurled his body from his little bed and made his way toward House. They stared one another down for a moment before the dog moved closer. It seemed unaffected by him. He set his cane aside, leaning it against the wall before he limped a couple steps forward. The little creature continued watching House as he came closer. As House towered over him, the dog began wagging his tail, probably remembering him from earlier that morning.

House bent over to pick up the dog and held him out in front of him. He squirmed and wiggled, whining, causing House to bring him into his chest to get a different grip on him. The dog lifted his head and gently tasted House's scruffy chin. He recoiled with a grimace. "Don't lick me, mutt."

House studied the dog for a moment as he cradled him in his arms. The furball had a passive temperament, he noticed. Not many dogs would let someone hold them like that even when they're puppies. They stared each other down until the dog shifted his eyes, more interested in his surroundings. It brought a smirk to House's lips. He slowly lifted the dogs lips to check his mouth, noting the pink gums which indicated he was at least not dehydrated. Bella seemed to be taking decent care of the mutt in that regard. He continued an external exam of the dog to make sure he was healthy enough to be around his kid. House wasn't a veterinarian and he couldn't check the dog for worms or parasites but he knew what to look for to know whether he was safe to be in the house. If he wasn't, House would end this before it could get out of hand. He didn't even know where this dog came from or how his daughter had gotten him. Something he intended to find out immediately.

House gently set the dog back on the floor and turned to make his way out of the room. The dog followed him, his little tail wagging as he barked, which sounded more like a squeaky toy than a dog bark; it was more a yip than anything else.

"Stay, pooch." House told him, opening the bedroom door.

The dog made for the door, House's command going unheeded. Before the dog could escape, House closed the door and more firmly told him to stay. He tried it again, opening the door, keeping a close watch on the dog's movements. He went for the door again, and House closed it again, reprimanding him with a sharp command. He repeated that little ritual more times than he cared to but finally when House opened the door again the dog looked up at him but stayed where he was. House sighed, rolled his eyes, and left the room with a firm close of the door. As he took a step away to go back to what he was doing, he heard the dog begin whining. House stopped, slumped his shoulders and dropped his head. Dammit, what had he done? He should've left the little mutt alone, now he'd be crying all day.

Ignoring the whiny dog locked in Bella's bedroom, House went into the kitchen where Mik was babbling away and Grandma Cuddy was cleaning up after breakfast. Cuddy would kill him if she knew he had let her mother do the cleaning but he had been preoccupied with the dog. He remembered when Grandma made the move to Princeton. She had offered to come for the purpose of helping out with Mikaela during the day and Bella after school while he and Cuddy were working. Then it gradually became, 'I'll just do Mikaela's laundry' since her clothes piled up the fastest; then, it was 'I'll throw Bella's in as well, it's just easier that way,' although, how that's true, House had no idea.

Cuddy had been horrified and refused to let her mother come in and do all of the housework for them, "She's not our maid, House." Cuddy had argued. Then he retorted with "Then let's get a maid." Cuddy had balked at that idea but promised to think about it. He knew why she didn't want a maid, not even to come in once a week to clean the big stuff; it was because she wanted to teach Bella and Mikaela responsibility and discipline. He was fine with that but he had to admit he hated cleaning as much as Bella did. Mik was too young so she was lucky…for now. He seriously needed to push this maid thing, it's not like they couldn't afford it. Or maybe he'd just take it upon himself to hire one; he knew Cuddy, she'd argue about it but let him have his way in the end.

Grandma looked up as House came through the doorway. When Mik spotted him, she toddled over, holding her arms up to him. House bent to pick her up, settling her on his hip.

"Daddy." She said in her sweet way, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Greg, are you headed to work?" Grandma inquired, busily filling the dishwasher.

"In a little while, but there's something I think you forgot to mention yesterday, Granny." He said. House thought about it, and there's no way she didn't know about the dog Bella brought home.

Grandma looked over at him, confused at first but after studying his expression he could read in hers that she knew what he was talking about. Cheekily she asked, "What's that, dear?"

His response was to smile at her and wait.

She released a knowing chuckle. "She has no idea you know about it, does she?"

"'Course not. I am way more sneakier than she is." He snarked.

"Bella and Simon came home with it saying they rescued it from a storm drain. Said someone had tied a rope around its neck and weighed it down with a rock; horrible how anyone could do that. So she begged me to keep it quiet until she could convince you and Lisa to let her keep it and I promised I would."

House looked at her reproachfully. "Sucker…bad Granny." He joked.

"Oh let her keep it, Greg. Every child needs a dog at some point in their lives."

"You realize that you'll be the one to do most of the watching, right? Bella doesn't have time to keep a dog and neither do we."

"Doddie." Mik piped up, lifting her head from his shoulders. "Ooof ooof."

House inwardly rolled his eyes before placing a kiss to her little head having realized why she'd been doing that now. "That's right, peanut. Doggies say woof woof."

Grandma smiled at Mik before shrugging her shoulders. "Bella will be out of school for the summer soon. I'll keep an eye on it until then."

"I'm staying out of it. Whether she keeps it won't be up to me, Cuddy is the one that gets to make that decision."

"Only because you agree with me that she should keep it."

"Do not." He denied, rolling his eyes before turning his head to brush a kiss to Mik's cheek and blow raspberries on her neck, causing an eruption of giggles. "Right, little peanut?"

"Daddy." She giggled, revealing her toothy smile.

House huffed a laugh. "See, she knows I'm right."

* * *

Bella opened the front door to her home, Maya trailing behind her, having come over for a while to see Zorro. Bella closed the door behind her and listened for Mik's squeals and stomping feet coming to greet her but she heard nothing. It was silent and Bella frowned.

"Isn't your Grandma usually here when you get home?" Maya asked, having noticed the silence as well.

Bella nodded. "Grandma! Mik! I'm home." She called, but got no response. No sooner had she called out to them, than Zorro came trotting out of her bedroom toward her, his paws slipping and sliding on the hardwood floor as he released a little yippy bark. Bella and Maya gasped simultaneously; Bella in surprise that he was out of her room and Maya in glee at having first seen Zorro. Bella kneeled down to pick him up. "Hey, Zorro, what are you doing? How did you get out of my room? Where is everyone?" She questioned him as if he were able to respond. Hugging him to her chest, he reached up and licked her on the lips; she giggled and swiped at her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, he so cute." Maya gushed. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure." Bella handed him over and both girls smiled and giggled as Zorro stretched his neck to lick Maya as she cradled him to her chest.

"He is so sweet." Maya said, nuzzling his fur.

Bella smiled in response, nodding in agreement. They stood in the foyer for another moment until she realized they should get Zorro back to her room before someone saw them. She didn't know where Grandma and Mik were, but Bella didn't want to be caught off guard if Mik happened to walk in at any moment. They would probably hear her coming but she didn't want to take the chance.

"Come on." Bella walked toward her bedroom with Maya and Zorro trailing. "We better get back in my room, we don't want Mik to see him or her head might explode with excitement and I will be in so much troub-." Bella halted in the doorway and broke off her sentence at the sight of her father sitting on her bed, watching her with a smirk on his face. "Dad." She breathed out in surprise.

Bella glanced at Maya, both girls in shock. Maya's eyes were wide as she held Zorro out to her. Bella took him in her arms and they shifted their eyes back to her dad.

"I've gotta go. Hi, Dr. House. Bye, Dr. House." Maya said, and turned on her heel to flee. "Call me later, if you're still alive, Bella!" She called out, as the door closed on her retreating body.

Bella turned her gaze back to her dad.

Her dad, still smirking, stood up and made his way toward her. "So imagine my surprise when I wake up this morning and there's a dog walking into my room looking for a place to use the bathroom."

Bella's mouth went dry and she swallowed. Zorro squirmed in her arms to be let down as she opened her mouth to respond. "I-."

"And then, imagine my surprise when your Grandmother tells me she's been helping you keep this little furry secret." He added, standing over her, his eyes boring into her skull.

"I ca-, Dad, I can explain." She stuttered, looking up at him, her mouth still dry with shock.

"I already know everything, your granny told me."

Bella blinked, closed her mouth, not knowing what to say next. Should she beg him to let her keep Zorro and to help her convince her mom. Or maybe she should beg not to be punished until she's old enough to move out of the house; that seemed the smarter option.

Bella nodded, resigned. "How much trouble am I in?"

Her dad grinned at her. "That's for your mother to decide."

"Daddyyyy." She whined. "You know what she'll say, and I really, really want to keep him."

"My god, you're whiny."

Bella glared at him. "Dad, come on, please. Talk mom into letting me keep Zorro. I promise I'll take care of him."

"You named that thing Zorro?" Dad asked with a grimace. "He looks more like a raccoon than a dog."

Remembering that Simon had said the exact thing the day before, Bella rolled her eyes so hard she felt like they might pop out of her skull. "You sound like Simon, he said that too."

"See, I knew I liked that kid for a reason." He replied, smugly.

"Whatever, he's not a raccoon." She mumbled, setting Zorro down on the floor since he kept squirming in her arms. Bella noticed that once his little feet hit the hardwood, he pranced over to her dad, sitting at his feet. Zorro wagged his tail, and looked at dad expectantly. Her eyes grew wide in realization. "Oh my god…he likes you!" She exclaimed, watching the grin that had grown on her dad's face when Zorro went to him fall, and his eyes shift up to her in surprise. "And you like him too!"

"I do not." He denied.

"Yes you do. He went to you like he expects you to pet him or give him a treat or something! You like him. You played with him today, didn't you?" She accused, a smile splitting her face. This was awesome! She could use this. All she needed to do now was to convince her mother, or better yet, let her dad convince her mother to let her keep Zorro. "You want to keep him too!"

He shook his head. "No, I don't, he is your problem not mine."

"Admit it. You like him and you want to keep him too."

"It's not my fault if he keeps following me around like a puppy."

"He is a puppy…it's what puppies do when they like someone." She argued, her smile growing if that were possible. "I'm right, aren't I?" She crossed her arms, waiting.

Dad's eyes squinted into a glare and he pointed his finger at her. "I am not the one that has to convince your mother. You brought this mutt home, you handle it."

Bella uncrossed her arms. "So I'm not in trouble?"

"I didn't say that."

"Daaad. You have to help me." She begged. "Mom's going to say no and I want to keep him. If she knows that you want him too, she might let me."

"I don't want him. I had to clean up after him all day, so you owe me, not the other way around."

"You didn't go to work?" Bella frowned.

Dad stared blankly; caught. "Fine, Grandma cleaned up after him, but you're still the one that gets to confess to your mother about this. She knows that something's going on, it won't be long before she figures this out."

Bella heaved a huge sigh, dropping her bag to the floor at her feet. She leaned over to pick Zorro up and held him up to her dad's face. "Look at this face." She demanded. "Tell me you don't want to keep him."

Her dad rolled his eyes and moved around her, out of her bedroom. He pointed his cane at her and Zorro. "Tell your mother tonight. He's your responsibility no matter what she decides. And until a decision is made, keep Mik away. This is between you and your mother, she doesn't need to be pressured into letting you keep him because she's unwilling to let Mik down."

"What about letting me down?" She mumbled, her hopes slightly dashed.

"You're not a baby, you can handle it. Mik won't understand."

Bella's face fell, nodding her understanding. She watched as her dad walked away before turning her attention to Zorro. She hugged him close, kissing him. Bella thought her dad would help her convince mom but apparently not. She was on her own. He was right though, Zorro was her responsibility and if she wanted to keep him, she needed to prove she could take care of him. So really, nothing had changed except that her dad knew about him now. Bella's plan all along was to prove she could do it. And thinking it through a bit more, she realized that if her dad had any serious objections he would've gotten rid of Zorro already. That brought a small grin to her lips. Now she just had to convince her mother and she was going to do that by proving her ability to care for this dog. Mom had to let her if Bella proved it, right? She let out another sigh; this was not going to be easy.

 **A/N: Oh man, I'm sorry, you guys! I didn't think it would be this long between posts. But unfortunately work and other life things took over. Probably won't be the last time this happens. I'm going to try to get another chapter out in a few days but I may have to stretch out my posts after that so I'd understand if you guys want to wait until it's complete to read the rest of this thing. Thanks for your patience and, as always, for reading! Happy belated birthday to the guest who sent me a review the other day and I apologize for my inability to fulfill your request. I hope you had a wonderful birthday anyway.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Cuddy was sitting on the couch in the living room, enjoying a cup of tea as she looked over some charts that had piled up in her inbox the last several days. She just couldn't seem to get them moved to her outbox because things had been crazy at home and at the hospital lately. She'd had to miss a few days of work 2 weeks ago because Mik had caught a 24 hour stomach bug and all she wanted was her mommy. Cuddy had spent a day holding her baby girl in her arms as she threw up and then another day or two as she recuperated. And then a few days later, Bella had come home from school with the same bug, causing Cuddy to miss another day of work. Bella was the opposite, she wanted to be left alone when she was sick, but Cuddy had stayed for as long as Bella would allow herself to be babied. When she'd gone back to the hospital, everything had piled up and she still hadn't managed to get it under control.

Cuddy set another chart aside and was prepared to pick up another when she saw Bella lingering in the doorway. She smiled at her oldest girl, noticing how grown up she looked at that moment. She had grown so much from the scared little girl she'd been when they first found each other a few years ago. It didn't seem that long ago, but it was; they'd been through so much. Bella was getting so tall and becoming a beautiful young woman. Cuddy couldn't believe she'd be in high school next year.

She sighed, an affectionate grin finding it's way out despite her glum thoughts. "Hey, baby. You headed to bed?"

Bella returned her smile and moved toward Cuddy. "Not a baby, Mom." She mumbled, sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, carefully avoiding the piles of paperwork strewn around Cuddy.

"You're always my baby."

Bella huffed a laugh and shook her head as Cuddy neatly piled the papers and moved them to the coffee table, allowing Bella to sit next to her.

"You read to Mik?"

Bella nodded. "Dad's got her. The story didn't put her out so he's rocking her. He said to tell you she wanted to say goodnight again but that she was half asleep already, so not to ruin it." She smiled, drawing a huff from Cuddy.

Bella brought her feet onto the couch, curling her toes between the cushions as she hugged her legs to her chest. She was facing Cuddy and leaning her side into the back cushions. Cuddy noticed she looked like she had something to say, but was reluctant.

She set her computer down on the coffee table and gestured for Bella to move closer, wanting to cuddle with her daughter for a little while and maybe draw out what she had on her mind to talk about. These cuddles and talks had become rare; life had become so busy since Mik came along, leaving them little time for these moments between them. She hoped Bella didn't feel neglected from all the attention Mik needed. But Bella was a teenager now and not as interested in hanging around her parents as she used to be, anyway. It was all about her friends and maybe even Simon, now that Cuddy suspected they were more than friends; maybe that was what Bella wanted to talk about.

Bella slowly moved into her arms, laying her head on Cuddy's shoulder, just like she used to, and drew her arms into her chest. Bella sighed, contentedly.

"Your hair smells good." Cuddy noted, placing a kiss to Bella's head.

"It's still a little wet from my shower, sorry." Bella mumbled, but didn't make a move to scoot away.

"S'okay." She replied softly, tightening her arms around her girl. "So how's school going, everything ok?"

"Mhm." She answered. "How's work?"

Cuddy smiled. Bella hadn't asked about that in awhile and Cuddy was glad to hear the question again. "Busy, but good."

"Want me to leave you alone so you can get back to-?"

"Never. I haven't been able to cuddle with my oldest girl in awhile and I need to take advantage while she'll still let me."

Bella huffed but then hummed her agreement softly.

After a moment of silence, Cuddy decided to dive in with her questions about Simon.

"So how's Si-." She started.

"Mom, can I-." Bella began simultaneously.

They both laughed and Cuddy squeezed Bella's shoulders. "You go first." Cuddy told her.

"No, you go; I want you to."

Cuddy nodded, wondering how to approach this. "Ok. I was just wondering how you and Simon are doing."

"Me and Simon?" She questioned, confused. "We're fine, why?"

"Why?" Cuddy asked, almost incredulous, turning her head slightly to look at Bella. "Because you two have been acting strangely, that's why." She continued, stringing the first syllable of 'because' out to try and emphasize how weird their behavior had been the other night. But then she slowed her roll because she didn't want to start an argument or confrontation. Cuddy sighed, "I just thought you guys seemed kind of close lately. Thought maybe something was different."

Cuddy watched Bella's reaction through her peripheral vision. She was carefully thinking about her response.

Bella drew her bottom lip between her teeth and then released it, asking, "What do you mean? Different how? He seemed the same to me…I mean, his mom seems to be more on his case than usual, but he's the same."

Cuddy nodded, not really expecting that response. "Oh…well, maybe I should talk to his mom for him; see if there's anything I can do. But, I just thought-…so you two aren't…you know?" She asked, stumbling through what she wanted to say. This was harder than she thought it was going to be.

Bella lifted her head from Cuddy's shoulder, her brow furrowed. "What?"

Oh geez. "Uhm, together…boyfriend and girlfriend?" She stammered.

Bella's face sobered, her jaw dropped and she straightened her spine. Cuddy's arms dropped from around her shoulders to see the grimace on her daughter's face.

"What? No! Ew, no way! Why would you even think that? I don't like him that way, he's, he's, he's…Simon!" Bella was shaking her head to further emphasize her vehement words of denial.

Cuddy was somewhat startled by Bella's reaction. She wasn't expecting such a strong response. "O-k…sorry I asked?" She replied. "Bella, I don't think he's all that bad. I just thought since you spend a lot of time together, you have common interests, you've known each other since you were eight. You've both been acting so strangely, so your father and I thought that maybe something was going on." She shrugged. "Plus now that you're both teenagers, sometimes feelings change and your bodies are experiencing new and overwhelming-." Cuddy stopped, cut short by Bella's swift movement as she covered her hears and squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head as if to block out everything she was saying.

"Huh-uh. No, oh my god, please stop, I'm having some seriously traumatic sex-talk flashbacks right now." She mumbled.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and reached up to move her daughters hands away from her ears. She was so dramatic. Bella opened her eyes, still wary and worried that she was going to continue with her speech. Cuddy raised her eyebrows expectantly waiting for her to explain.

"Mom, he's my best friend, I don't think of him like that! And I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me like that. Anyway, he has a crush on a girl at school that he thinks I don't know about but I do." She explained. "It's not like I look at him all moony-faced like you do with Dad."

"Hey, I do not!" Cuddy defended.

Bella huffed. "Oh please, yes you do. Even after all this time, you get all googly-eyed sometimes. I notice, Mom." She said, her lip curving cheekily. "It's pretty gross…but also kind of sweet. But, I don't like thinking about it." She exaggerated a shudder.

Cuddy gaped at her daughter. She was blushing, she could feel it creep up her neck all the way to her cheeks and up to her ears but she attempted to cover her embarrassment with an eye-roll and a shake of her head. "So what if I do, he's my husband so…." She shrugged. This was not going as planned, she had to turn it around. "Don't change the subject. What's going on with you and Simon? You two were secretive and conspiring together yesterday so I know you're hiding something. If it's not that you two have been making out in your bedroom, then what is it?"

Bella gaped, horrified. "You thought we were making out!? God, Mom!" She scooted away and covered her face with her hands. "This is so embarrassing."

"Oh believe me, you're happy I'm the one having this conversation with you. Your father wanted to remove the door from the hinges and waterboard the both of you for information." She told her pointedly. "Now, what has all the secrecy been about between you two?"

Bella's shoulders slumped; her hands fell from her face and looked into Cuddy's eyes. "Ok…." Bella sighed, shifting her eyes, a furrow in her brow. "This is kind of what I came in here to talk to you about." She looked back at Cuddy, took a steadying breath and began. "Do you remember the first time you saw me, how scared I was and how much I needed you?"

Cuddy frowned, surprised and taken somewhat aback by her question. She took a moment to shift her mind from their previous subject, feeling a slight conversational whiplash. "Of course I remember that." She responded solemnly.

Bella nodded. "And how much you needed me?"

Cuddy nodded again. "What's going on?"

Bella seemed to steel herself before continuing. "While Simon and I were walking home from the bus stop yesterday we found something."

Cuddy's frown deepened, unsure where this was headed. "What did you find?" She asked.

"We found a…a puppy."

Cuddy frowned. "A puppy?"

"Yeah, you know, a baby dog?" Bella replied smartly.

She glared at her daughter. "Funny. So what does this have to do with how we found each other?" She asked before really thinking about it but realization caught up with her quickly. "Oh…are you trying to tell me that you and Simon are keeping a dog somewhere?"

Bella nodded and made a half gesture toward her bedroom.

Cuddy's eyes widened upon realizing what that gesture meant. "Oh my god, there's a dog in this house?" She asked, looking around the room expecting it pop out from behind the chair in the corner of the room as if to say 'surprise, look at me, aren't I cute?'" She studied Bella's expression of unease and worry and Cuddy raised her eyebrows. "You've been hiding a puppy in your bedroom." It was more of a statement than a question.

Bella sighed. "Yes," came her mumbled response.

Cuddy huffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's what all of this has been about, a dog?" She asked, feeling slightly relieved. "I have to admit, I'm slightly relieved, right now." She mumbled to herself, but Bella heard her and perked up.

"So I can keep him?"

"I didn't say that. How have you been hiding a puppy in the house without your father and I knowing about it?" She rolled her eyes, this was so like her to do something like this; Cuddy wasn't sure why she was surprised by it. "Or do I even want to know?" She breathed out, exasperated.

Bella furrowed her brow. "Don't be mad, ok? We rescued him from the storm drain up the block and it was a good thing we found him when we did because someone tried to kill him, Mom. They tied a rope around his neck and weighed him down with a rock and threw him down there. It was…cruel." She finished explaining, her eyes glazing with anger and unshed tears.

Cuddy took in the information before asking, "Then why would you hide him? Why not just ask? Why not ask for help?"

"Because I knew what you'd say. You always say no and I wanted to keep him and prove I could take care of him. And I did, Mom. I took really good care of him. He was dirty and grimy so I gave him a bath and I fed him and watered him…took him outside when he needed to go. I took care of him." She reiterated.

Cuddy sighed, her eyes on her daughter. "Bella…"

"Mommy, please don't say no." She begged.

Cuddy huffed out a laugh; using 'mommy' as attempted manipulation was a classic touch. "Nice." But she studied her daughter's face for a moment, seeing the sincerity there. She realized quickly that she wasn't trying to be manipulative. She was dead serious so Cuddy sobered, her expression softening. "This means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah. He's good dog, Mom. He's sweet and funny and smart and he has these dark furry circles around his eyes that make it look like he's wearing a mask so I named him Zorro." She explained with a tender smile.

Cuddy returned a tight but genuine smile, still feeling uneasy about letting her keep the dog. Puppies were so much responsibility. As she considered what to tell her daughter, her smile fell and she became serious. "Listen to me, baby…" She began her explanation. "I'm willing to consider letting you keep the dog, but…I want you to think about this, and I mean really think about it. Because it's a huge responsibility."

"I know, Mom, I can-."

"No, just listen." Cuddy held her hand up, waiting for Bella's full attention. "Ok, here it is. How old is this puppy?" She asked, digging for facts to help her make the right decision.

"I don't know for sure, but maybe 6 or 7 weeks."

"That's young, Bella. A puppy that young is just learning to be away from its mother, and it sounds to me like it didn't even get the chance to be weaned…so how are you going to take care of it the way it needs? Puppies need certain kind of nutrition, what are you going to feed it?"

"I bought him some food yesterday at the pet store and got some advice from the guy there. Zorro seemed to like the food."

"All right. You said you found him down a storm drain, he needs medical attention even if it appears nothing's wrong with him. He could be sick if he was down in that drain for too long, ok?"

Bella nodded, accepting that. "I know. I checked for broken bones the way you taught me and he wasn't bleeding anywhere."

Cuddy nodded in response, knowing Bella would have done everything to make sure the dog was fine but still wanting to make her think about the responsibility she was taking on. "We'll still need to make an appointment at the vet's office. There are other things that could make him sick; puppies that age are more vulnerable to disease especially since we don't know how long he was down there."

Bella nodded.

"Now, a few more things to consider…you have school, so who is going to watch him during the day; take him out to do his business? Play with him so he doesn't get bored and chew up the furniture or dig holes in the backyard? Train him so he knows what's acceptable and what isn't? Dad and I aren't home enough to look out for him when you're not here, and before you suggest your Grandmother, she already has her hands full with Mik and doing chores around the house that I already object to but she won't listen to me about. We can't put more on her plate, sweetheart. What about your art club at school? That's 3 days a week plus you have swimming on the weekends; how are you going to keep up with those and take care of a puppy? They need constant care and attention." Cuddy posited, her eyebrows rose in question.

Bella sat in silence, her eyes downcast, playing with the cuff of her pajama pants as she listened. Cuddy placed her hand on Bella's, the other reaching to lift her chin, seeking eye contact. When she had it, she continued. "I'm not saying no to this, but these are things you need to think about. I need you to consider the welfare of that puppy and if our home is the best home for him. Think about Mik…is having this puppy in our home good for her? Will he hurt her; will she hurt him? Having a dog is a lifetime commitment, ok? You can't just love him when he's a puppy and then get bored and want to get rid of him when he grows up. This is why I've said no to having a dog in the past. It's not to be mean or strict or because I want you to be unhappy. It's because this is a life you're responsible for, and it's important. Do you understand?"

Bella nodded. "Yes, Mom."

Cuddy dropped her hand from Bella's chin, placing it over her other hand. "Where is he now?"

"In my tent, sleeping." She mumbled.

Cuddy nodded in the direction of Bella's room. "Show me." She said and smiled to let Bella know she wasn't upset and was open-minded about keeping the dog.

Bella looked at her and responded with one of her own, appearing somewhat reassured as she stood up. She reached her hand out for Cuddy to follow her. Cuddy took her daughter's outstretched hand and they made their way into the bedroom. When she entered, she was surprised to notice it was clean, when usually it was a disaster area. She was impressed, maybe having a dog could be a good thing for her, after all.

Then she laid eyes on the little creature that spawned this whole discussion. He was so small, curled up in one of Bella's blankets. He was also very adorable; Cuddy could see why Bella was enamored with the little guy. Bella looked at her, a smile taking over her entire face.

"Isn't he so cute?"

"He is cute." Cuddy answered. Bella was watching her expectantly. "This is why your sister has been barking, isn't it?"

Bella nodded sheepishly. "She heard him, when we were trying to keep her out of the room. I didn't want her to know about him because she'd tell on me. And she did…sort of."

Cuddy chuckled, nodding.

"Do you want to hold him?" Bella enticed with a smirk and an arch of her eyebrow.

"Don't manipulate me by flaunting his adorableness." She joked. "I'm still not sure I'm ok with this."

"Mom, how am I going to prove it to you if you won't let me try? I'm older now, I can take care of him; I can do this."

"Let me think about it, ok, and I want to talk to your dad first."

"Dad said it's between you and me." Bella supplied.

Cuddy raised her eyebrows at that bit of new information, she wasn't aware that House knew about the dog. But of course he did, it's not all that surprising that he'd know and that he wouldn't tell her about it.

"Don't be mad at him, he didn't know until today and he figured it out…I didn't tell him." She said, wringing her fingers nervously.

Cuddy gave her tight lipped smile, still planning on giving House a hard time about it. She considered her daughter for a moment, and then nodded slowly, realizing it truly meant a lot to Bella to keep the dog. "Ok." She said softly.

Bella gasped, astonished, and threw herself into Cuddy, hugging her tightly around her waist and squeezing, tucking her face in her neck like she did when she was younger. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise I'll take care of him, Mom."

Cuddy wrapped her arms around Bella, embracing her with a smile. She loved making her happy, but she was still apprehensive over her decision because she knew it could turn into a mistake. She was afraid Bella would become disinterested in caring for the animal after a time and it would be left to her and House. And that they would eventually have to re-home him and end up breaking their daughter's heart. But on the other hand, she also believed in her daughter and knew that Bella was a caring and compassionate person; she cared deeply about people and the things in her life. She had rescued this dog from death and Cuddy suspected that Bella needed this responsibility. It was like Bella had pointed out earlier; she was a rescue as well and she knew what it felt like to be alone and unwanted, she knew tragedy. Bella was probably the best person on this planet to take care of this dog.

Bella leaned up and placed a kiss on Cuddy's cheek before hugging her again. "Thank you, Mom." She whispered.

"You're welcome, baby girl." Cuddy combed Bella's hair away from her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I guess we know how you're spending your summer."

Bella huffed a laugh and nodded. "Yeah. He'll be the best trained dog in the neighborhood."

Cuddy nodded with a smile.

Bella abruptly dropped her arms from around Cuddy's waist and knelt down to pick up the dog. She held him up to her. "Mom, this is Zorro. Do you want to hold him?"

Cuddy smiled and took the dog from Bella. His fur was soft and he was a little wiggly in her arms, making her laugh as the puppy stretched his face up to lick her chin. Bella was delighted, reaching out to pet Zorro's head as Cuddy held him.

"We need to get him checked out by the vet, Sweetheart. Call Dr. Whalen tomorrow and make an appointment, ok? I'd hate it if he got sick from something down in that drain and I especially don't want him to have caught something that's transmitted to humans. I don't want Mik around him without having him checked out first." She told Bella softly while running her fingers over Zorro's fur and keeping her eyes peeled for fleas or ticks on him anywhere. She checked his eyes and teeth, making sure there wasn't anything wrong with him as far she could tell.

"Ok." Bella agreed and then furrowed her brow. "I think Splat hates me now, he gave a particularly horrendous glare earlier." She recounted. "Do you think he'll be ok with Zorro?"

"He'll be fine, just don't forget about him. He was your first baby." Cuddy replied, tossing Bella cheeky smile.

"Haha. He's probably really pissed at me, though; feeling betrayed or something." Bella mumbled.

Cuddy rolled her eyes, "I doubt that," and continued to scratch behind the puppy's ears, down to his neck, and over his belly. She smiled as he closed his eyes. Cuddy was putting him to sleep and she had to admit she found this little furball to be quite adorable.

Bella shrugged at her comment, but smiled upon seeing Zorro asleep. Cuddy studied her daughter's look of affection for this dog, confident she'd made the right decision in letting her keep him. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but Bella was stubborn and determined; she'd make it work, if it killed her. Not that Cuddy wanted that, however, it was a way of teaching her another level of responsibility. Having a puppy was somewhat like having a child, in the sense that it took constant and consistent attention and care. Bella has proven she could handle the responsibility of being a big sister when Mikaela came along, but she's not her sole caretaker. Having her own little life to take care of would give her that experience. This would be good for her.

"By the way, you're grounded for a week." Cuddy told her in a hushed tone as Zorro slept in her arms.

Bella's smile fell and she glanced up, surprised. "But-." She started to protest but stopped herself before nodding her acceptance.

* * *

House was sitting up in bed, his back to the headboard, reading a book. He glanced up over the rims of his reading glasses when Cuddy entered the room. His eyes followed her as she made her way around the bed to the dresser, pulling out her pajamas and began to dress for bed. He let the book fall to his lap when she removed her shirt and took off her bra, a smile lifting his lips. She hadn't said a word and had barely looked at him. She didn't look mad, just neutral, holding a blank expression. When she was dressed she went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. He could hear her washing her face, brushing her teeth, and using the toilet before she came back and crawled under the covers. House had put away his book and glasses on the nightstand as she came to bed.

She looked at him as she settled, lying on her side facing him and he scooted his body down the bed, resting his head on the pillow.

"So what'd you tell her?" House asked.

Cuddy didn't answer right away, just watched him, her lips drawn into a tight smile.

"You caved, didn't you?" He smirked, turning his head to look at her.

"You knew she was hiding that dog and you didn't tell me?" Cuddy countered, raising her brows.

"Why would I, this was way more fun?" His smirk grew into a smile and he rotated onto his side, pillowing his head on his hand.

Cuddy shook her head. "You let me worry about having that conversation with her about Simon when you knew exactly what was going on."

"And it surprises you that I would do such a thing?" He smirked. "Do you not know me at all?" He added.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "And you're ok with this; with her having that dog?"

House shrugged. "Yeah, why not. The mutt seemed healthy enough and wasn't aggressive at all. She'll do fine."

Cuddy smiled, nodding in agreement. "Yeah." Sighing wistfully, she added, "she's growing up; it's time for her to have something of her own like this. She can handle it."

"You told her I'm not clean up after that thing, right? I clean enough poopy bottoms around here."

Cuddy huffed. "Yes, House. She's solely responsible."

"Good. So I guess you were wrong about the boyfriend."

She back-handed him on the shoulder. "Me? You're the one who suggested they were making out in her bedroom."

"You're the one who believed me."

She rolled her eyes, covered her face with her hands and mumbled, "Oh god, that was so awkward, House."

House smiled at her, glad he wasn't the one to have that conversation. "There's no way it was more awkward than the sex talk we tried to have with her."

Cuddy moved her hands and glared at him. "Nothing…will ever be more awkward than that. We're both doctors and we couldn't have a simple conversation with our daughter about sex." She lamented.

"You're the one who went at her with the all the medical jargon and crap. My way was better."

She leveled a look of disbelief on him. "Seriously? What, with your idea of making Wilson do it?"

"Trust me, he would've learned a few things. I was doing him a favor."

Cuddy huffed a laugh, shaking her head. "Well, it turned out to be nothing like our debacle and it was made very clear to me that she and Simon are just friends."

"What did she say?" His smile widened as he imagined the look on his daughter's face.

Cuddy chuckled, shaking her head at the memory. "She was…fairly grossed out by the thought. It's like I told you before, she doesn't look at him that way."

"I should probably talk to Simon too, just to see if it's a mutual grossing out…and plus it would be a lot of fun for me."

Cuddy glowered at him. "No, you are not going to torture that boy with your mean little head games. Anyway, according to what Bella said, he has a crush on a girl school."

That got his attention; House lifted his head from the pillow with a devious smile. "You really should know better than to tell me these things, Cuddy. Now I'm going to have to go-."

Cuddy covered his mouth with her hand and leaned over him, her expression stern. His hands went to her hips. "No. I know this doesn't mean anything to you but mind your own business."

"Wah wu wah e aut uh eh?" He mumbled behind her hand.

She scowled. "What?"

He removed her hand from his mouth. "What do I get out of it?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes and he knew something good was about to come out of her mouth.

"Well, you don't get my foot up your ass, how's that?"

"Hmmm, no one hates having a foot up their ass more than me, but for this I might make an exception. Screwing with that kid is way too much fun, I'll need to be well compensated for minding my own business."

She collapsed onto him, dropped her head on his shoulder and released a defeated sigh. "House, I'm too tired to tell if you're being serious or if you're just screwing with me, so let's just pretend we came to an understanding and you're going to leave Simon alone, ok?"

House heaved a sigh. "You are a serious killjoy, you know that?"

"Yes, you've mentioned it a few times." She replied, lifting her head from his shoulder, unaffected by his insults and dropping a kiss to his lips before rolling away from him. "Anyway, Bella is calling to make an appointment for the dog. One of us will have to take her."

"Not it." He called.

She huffed. "You can't fool me, House, I know you already like that dog. You've always liked dogs and pretended not to, just like you pretend not to like Splat."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I have baby duty, you have dog duty. You're the one who let her keep that rodent, anyway."

Cuddy frowned and looked over at him. "He does look a little like raccoon, doesn't he?"

"All we have to do is paint rings around his tail and, voila."

Cuddy chuckled and shook her head.


End file.
